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STATE OF MARYLAND :
THIERRY NKUSU :
DEFENDANT :
Comes now the State of Maryland, by and through Ryan Wechsler and Brian
Rubinstein, Assistant State’s Attorneys for Montgomery County, Maryland, and respectfully
On February 22, 2018, pursuant to section 2-203 of the Criminal Law Article, the State
filed notice of the State’s intention to seek Life without the Possibility of Parole in the event that
the Defendant be found guilty of Murder in the First Degree. On April 9, 2018, after a two-week
jury trial, the defendant was found guilty of one count of Murder in the First Degree. The
guidelines in this case are Life Imprisonment to Life Imprisonment. The State asks that the
On April 27, 2016, police and emergency technicians responded to 676 Houston
Avenue in Takoma Park, Montgomery County, Maryland. Upon arrival, officers responded to
Apartment 405 and found the victim, Maria Mbunga, laying on the floor of her bedroom, the
carpet saturated with blood. Investigation at the scene revealed that the victim was stabbed in
several locations in the apartment to include the bathroom and two areas of the bedroom. At
trial, the State’s case revealed the course of events which led to Ms. Mbunga’s death.
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On the morning of April 27, 2016, the defendant and Ms. Mbunga were together in Ms.
Mbunga’s apartment. At some point that morning, Ms. Mbunga was taking a shower when the
defendant entered the bathroom armed with a kitchen knife. The defendant stabbed Ms. Mbunga
while she was in the shower. Ms. Mbunga escaped from the bathroom and ran down the hallway
and into the bedroom. The Defendant chased after her, cornering her in the bedroom where he
continued to stab her. In a final desperate attempt at survival, Ms. Mbunga ran towards the
bedroom window where the defendant continued to stab her. She tried to break out the window
screen, possibly attempting to escape out of the fourth story window while she screamed
desperately for help. Unable to escape, Ms. Mbunga succumbed to her fatal injuries.
Investigation revealed that after discovering that Ms. Mbunga was pregnant, on
January 20, 2016, the defendant conducted a search on his cellphone for “avortment” which is
French for abortion. Additionally, detectives interviewed Epopo Shakembo, a close friend of
Ms. Mbunga. He recalled a conversation he had with the Defendant and the victim in February
2016 in which the victim stated that when the Defendant found out that she was pregnant, he
tried to talk her into having an abortion. In that same conversation, the victim revealed that she
had been pregnant the previous year and, when she began having trouble with her pregnancy,
she asked the defendant to take her to the hospital and he refused. Days later she had a
miscarriage.
had with the Defendant over the phone in March of 2016. In that conversation, the defendant
asked Mr. Kashane about a “friend” at work. The Defendant asked Mr. Kashne if an expectant
mother told a man that she would take care of a child without the father’s help, would that
father still be “responsible.” Mr. Kashne responded that the father could be held financially
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responsible for the child even if the mother states that she would care for the child. In response
to this answer, the Defendant responded “I will never accept that,” meaning the Defendant
would never let that situation ever happen to him. The defendant’s prior behavior suggests that
he killed Ms. Mbunga so that he would not have to be financially responsible for his child.
“In Maryland, the primary objectives of sentencing are punishment, deterrence, and
rehabilitation.” Jennings v. State, 339 Md. 675, 682 (1995); see also Jackson v. State, 364 Md.
192, 199 (2001); State v. Dopkowski, 325 Md. 671, 679 (1992); Johnson v. State, 274 Md. 536,
540 (1975). The State has addressed each of the three factors discussed in Jennings, applying
those factors to the facts of this. The State submits that all of the factors support the State’s
1. Rehabilitation.
The defendant’s actions on April 27, 2016, and all of his actions thereafter, support the
contention that the defendant is a violent and dangerous individual who is not capable
rehabilitation. The defendant is not only responsible for the brutal murder of his fiancé, but also
for the death of his unborn child. The most likely motive for the defendant’s heinous crime is
that he did not want to be ‘burdened’ with the financial responsibility of having a child. The
defendant made a conscious decision to end the life of Ms. Mbunga and their unborn child based
After stabbing Ms. Mbunga, the defendant did not call for help right away. In fact, the
evidence provided at trial suggests that the defendant spent hours trying to stage a scene inside of
the apartment which would be consistent with the story he was going to tell the police. While
the defendant spent time cleaning the murder weapon, changing his clothing, disposing of his
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bloody clothes, trying to alter the scene and stabbing himself, all in an effort to protect himself,
his fiancée bled to death in front of him. The defendant’s callous disregard for the life of his
fiancée and unborn child demonstrate that he is incapable of rehabilitation and that he presents a
2. Deterrence. The Defendant’s sentence should set an example not only to the
defendant, but to the general public that behavior such as that exhibited by the defendant will not
be tolerated by society. Specifically, this case exemplifies violence perpetrated against domestic
partners and the defendant’s sentence reflects how our community views domestic homicides.
Further, the associated death of the defendant’s unborn child reflects a frightening trend of cases
in which pregnant women are killed by their intimate partners. “A recent report from the CDC
shows that out of 10,000 women killed nationwide, more than half died at the hands of a current
or former intimate partner. 15 percent of them were pregnant.” CBS Baltimore, Love & Murder:
The Startling Number Of Pregnant Women Killed By The Men They Love, By Mary Bubala
In November, 2017 issue of Women’s Health Magazine, this epidemic was similarly
addressed in an article entitled, “Death by Pregnancy: Why are so many Moms-to-be Dying?”.
The article references a study performed by Isabelle Horon, Dr.PH and Diana Cheng, MD, the
results of which was published in the March 21, 2001 issue of the Journal of the American
Medical Association. The study revealed that “homicide was in fact the leading cause of
mortality during pregnancy and the first postpartum year, accounting for one out of five deaths.”
In the instant case, should the Court agree with the State’s recommendation and
sentence the defendant to Life without the Possibility of Parole, it will reflect that the murder of
pregnant women will not be tolerated by the State, the Court, or the community at large.
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3. Punishment. The defendant must be punished for the murder of Ms. Mbunga and
her unborn child. The defendant murdered Ms. Mbunga in cold blood, waiting until she was in
the shower, at her most vulnerable, without any means to defend her life or the life of her
defenseless unborn child. Not only did the defendant stab his pregnant fiancé seven times, but
three of those stab wounds were directly to her abdominal area, suggesting that the defendant
was targeting the baby during the attack. Additionally, the defendant chased Ms. Mbunga
through her apartment and continued to stab her as she begged for her life. The defendant must
be punished for the pain and horror he caused Ms. Mbunga to experience leading up to her death.
III. CONCLUSION
rehabilitation.” Jennings v. State, 339 Md. 675, 682 (1995). The Defendant brutally murdered
Maria Mbunga and caused the death of her unborn child. He covered up his crime and lied about
what led to Ms. Mbunga’s death, painting himself as the victim. The defendant has never
accepted responsibility for any of his actions and he has never showed remorse for ending Ms.
Mbunga’s life. The gruesome nature of Ms. Mbunga’s murder, the death of her unborn child,
and the defendant’s behavior following her death all justify a sentence of Life without the
Possibility of Parole.
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WHEREFORE, for the reasons stated above, it is respectfully requested that this Honorable
Respectfully submitted,
John J. McCarthy
State’s Attorney for
Montgomery County, Maryland
By: _________________________
Ryan Wechsler
Assistant State's Attorneys for
Montgomery County, Maryland
By: _________________________
Brian Rubinstein
Assistant State's Attorneys for
Montgomery County, Maryland
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I HEREBY CERTIFY that on this 1st day of July, 2018, a copy of the aforegoing Memorandum
____________________________
Ryan Wechsler
Assistant State's Attorney
Montgomery County, Maryland