Mother of woman stabbed to death at Fairfax County bus stop calls for change

The mother of a woman stabbed to death at a bus stop in Fairfax County last month spoke with News4 about her sorrow and anger as Stephanie Minter’s death makes national news and local leaders are called to testify in Congress.

Stephanie Minter, 41, was killed on Richmond Highway last month. Abdul Jalloh, 32, was charged with the crime and had lived in the U.S. illegally for more than a decade, ICE said.

“Anger. Anger’s the biggest thing right now,” the victim’s mother, Cheryl Minter, said.

“Female unresponsive. Seems to be a cut. She’s not breathing. There is blood all over her,” someone can be heard saying on an emergency dispatch.

Authorities say Jalloh has a violent criminal history, with more than 30 prior charges, including allegations of rape and multiple stabbings.

Cheryl Minter said she learned of her daughter’s death through a message on her phone the day after the killing.

“I found the phone, found the message, and all I read was ‘detective,’ ‘homicide,’ and I knew,” she said.

The case will be the focus of an upcoming congressional subcommittee hearing examining why Jalloh was free. Fairfax County’s prosecutor and sheriff were called to testify in Congress next month, News4 learned on Thursday. The Republican-led Judiciary committee is looking to Fairfax County as an example of the dangers of sanctuary policies.

ICE confirmed Jalloh had been living in the country illegally since 2012.

Emails obtained by News4 show Fairfax County police commanders pressed the commonwealth’s attorney’s office to find ways to keep Jalloh behind bars. But the spokesperson said few of the cases could be taken to trial because witnesses didn’t show up to court.

Jalloh has been jailed several times and ICE hasn’t deported him. Virginia’s governor faulted ICE for not deporting him. Republicans fault Fairfax County for not notifying ICE when Jalloh was in custody.

Cheryl Minter said she sees blame from the top down.

“I can look up public records and know what day he’s getting out. Why can’t they?” she asked.

In a new statement to News4, an ICE spokesperson said: “ICE arrested Abdul Jalloh on November 27, 2018. He was in custody for 702 days, until ICE was forced to release him following a judge’s ruling that he could not be removed to his home nation of Sierra Leone. ICE can only detain illegals for the purpose of removal. Without third country removals, there was no possibility for this criminal to be removed or further detained.”

Cheryl Minter said she wants to see change.

“Something’s got to happen to make it get fixed because innocent people can’t keep dying,” she said.

A new video shows Fairfax County Police utilizing their new Drone as First Responder program to catch a man suspected of peeping into homes in the act. News4’s Drew Wilder reports.

She said she never intended to put herself in the spotlight but said she doesn’t know what else to do and feels like she has to honor her daughter and possibly prevent another mother’s suffering.

Jalloh is set to return to court in May on a second-degree murder charge.