On the evening of Tuesday, November 6, 2018, 23-year-old Naseem Smith was found lying in the street on the 6100 block of Ludlow Street in Philadelphia. He had been shot multiple times, with wounds to his ankle, leg, and mid-section. Philadelphia Police officers rushed him to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, where he was listed in critical condition.
Despite medical efforts, Naseem Smith died from his injuries on Friday, November 9, 2018.
The shooting was not a random act of violence but the tragic culmination of a prolonged campaign of terror. The man responsible was Markevon Durham, the ex-boyfriend of Smith's girlfriend, Christina Parker. The harassment began in the summer of 2017 after Parker, then 21, ended her relationship with Durham upon discovering he had lied about his age and was married with children. When Parker began a new relationship with Smith, Durham's behavior escalated into a nightmarish ordeal of stalking and violence against the couple. Over the following months, Durham tormented them by cutting off Parker's ponytail on a subway platform, kidnapping her, and setting five different homes on fire in an attempt to locate them. Smith, Parker, and their families repeatedly reported these crimes to the Philadelphia police, identifying Durham as the perpetrator, but law enforcement failed to intervene, leaving him free to continue his terrifying quest for revenge.
The terror reached its peak on the night of the shooting when Durham finally located and ambushed Smith. Following an intensive investigation into the long history of harassment and violence, Philadelphia Police arrested Durham on Tuesday, October 22, 2019. In November 2024, nearly six years after the murder, a judge convicted Durham on all counts, including third-degree murder, arson, kidnapping, and aggravated assault.
During the sentencing hearing in January 2025, the court heard emotional testimony from Smith's loved ones. The Assistant District Attorney argued that Durham would kill again if ever released. The judge sentenced Markevon Durham to a term of 66.5 to 176 years in prison, ensuring that the man who had waged a relentless and deadly campaign of terror would likely spend the rest of his life behind bars.
