Angela Marina Risi was a gentle and compassionate soul, a talented dancer who was pursuing her passion as a second-year graduate student in Duke University's Master of Fine Arts in Dance program. The 30-year-old female, originally from San Diego, California, had worked for five years in the University of Chicago's Humanities Department before moving to Durham, North Carolina.
Her family described her as quirky, eccentric, and bursting with intelligence, a light in the life of anyone who knew her.
On the morning of October 2, 2023, Angela and her boyfriend, Stephon Dubose, were arguing in his car outside her home on Worth Street. He wanted an exclusive relationship, but she was not interested and went inside. Dubose then broke the glass on the front door, chased Angela through the house, and shot her eight times. He also went into her roommate's bedroom and shot Anna Semmes three times. At approximately 7:18 a.m., Durham police responded to reports of gunfire and found both women with life-threatening injuries. They were rushed to a local hospital, where Angela succumbed to her wounds. Her roommate survived but was left permanently disabled.
The investigation quickly led to Dubose. Anna Semmes identified her attacker to police as "Jimmy," a name Dubose used. About 30 minutes after the shooting, police were called to another residence where Dubose had stabbed himself. He told officers he had "shot a female in the face and wasn't going back to prison." A few days later, on October 5, police arrested Stephon Dubose, then 30, and charged him with murder and attempted first-degree murder. He was held in the Durham County Jail without bond.
Stephon Dubose later pleaded guilty to murder and attempted murder. At his sentencing hearing, he apologized to Angela's family, stating he was on drugs at the time of the crime and vowed to use his time in prison to better himself. Angela's father, Matt Risi, addressed the court, noting the profound sadness his family had endured since her death.
On February 23, 2026—what would have been Angela's 33rd birthday—a judge accepted Dubose's plea agreement. He was sentenced to a minimum of 35 years in prison. The tragic loss of Angela Risi left a deep void in the lives of her family, friends, and the academic communities she had touched. A GoFundMe campaign established by her brother to cover expenses and fund a celebration of her life was met with an overwhelming outpouring of support, reflecting the many lives she had brightened.
