PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Two men convicted in the murder of an 18-year-old rapper six years ago in West Philadelphia learned their fate on Tuesday.
Donovan Williams will spend the rest of his life in prison for his role in the July 2020 shooting death of Aamir Johnson Daye. Bahij Dini was sentenced to 13 1/2 to 42 years.
District Attorney Larry Krasner said this was a long time coming. “Here we are six years after the homicide and finally there is a verdict, and finally there is a consequence,” he said.
“We hope that our prosecutorial work does bring some level of comfort, some amount of closure, some sense of justice, because there have been consequences for a tragic and terrible crime.”
The shooting occurred on July 5, 2020, at a home on 61st Street near Master Street.
Krasner said it took more than 15 months to track down one of the defendants, and three years to find the other. Daye's mother said she was grateful for the persistence of investigators.
“I just wanted to thank everybody who put in all of this time to give my son justice. His birthday is this month, so this is the perfect happy birthday for him,” she said, while his father had his own heartfelt response.
“I just want to say to the individuals who killed my son, I don’t hate you. I just wish you’d choose better and use your music to uplift your family, and not destroy others.”
Krasner's office is still seeking information on this shooting though, saying one or two more people may have been involved.
