In the city of Schenectady, New York, a young life was tragically cut short on September 15, 2016. Medina Knowles, a 17-year-old female, was in her second-floor apartment on Schenectady Street when she was fatally shot in the head. At the time of the incident, her mother was asleep in another room of the home they shared with Medina's younger siblings and her own 2-year-old son, Jahsiy.
A neighbor reported hearing two gunshots followed by the sound of Medina's mother crying out that her daughter had been killed. Medina, a junior at Schenectady High School who had aspirations of becoming a cheerleader, was pronounced dead at the scene.
The investigation into her death quickly focused on 19-year-old Raekwon Stover, with whom Medina had been in a relationship for a short time. Friends of the family indicated that Stover may have been upset over the possibility that Medina was seeing someone else. In the days following the shooting, Stover turned himself in to the authorities. He was subsequently arrested and charged with second-degree murder, criminal possession of a weapon, and tampering with physical evidence.
During the trial, prosecutors presented a grim picture of the relationship between Stover and Knowles, stating that he had been exploiting her. They argued that the motive for the murder was Medina's desire to break free from his control. The jury found Raekwon Stover guilty of second-degree murder, as well as the weapons and evidence tampering charges. In August 2017, he was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for the murder of Medina Knowles.
