The daughter of a former top U.S. intelligence official will be spending multiple decades behind bars.
According to the Associated Press, Sophia Negroponte, 33, was sentenced Friday to 35 years in prison by Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Terrence McGann.
Negroponte was accused of stabbing a friend to death following a drunken dispute at a Maryland Airbnb six years ago, per Fox News.
LEARNING HER FATE: Sophia Negroponte, adopted daughter of former George W. Bush intelligence director John Negroponte, sentenced to 35 years for fatally stabbing friend Yousuf Rasmussen during drunken argument at Maryland Airbnb in 2020. https://t.co/RUGmIeeawc
— Fox News US (@FoxUSNews) March 7, 2026
The friend and victim was identified as 24-year-old Yousuf Rasmussen.
Fox News noted that after the initial dispute, Rasmussen left the home that he, Negroponte, and a third person were drinking at.
However, when he came back to grab his phone, Negroponte attacked him, stabbing him multiple times, including “a death blow that severed his jugular,” as described by Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy.
According to charging documents obtained by Fox News, a 911 call triggered first responders to arrive at the Airbnb on Feb. 13, 2020.
The then 27-year-old Negroponte was found inside the home, covered in blood and on top of Rasmussen, while screaming “I’m sorry.”
Negroponte had been facing a charge of second-degree murder for the horrific incident.
She was found guilty of that charge — and handed an original 35-year prison sentence — after the initial trial in 2023.
The first conviction, however, was overturned in 2024 after an appeals court ruled that the jury had been allowed to hear contested audio evidence.
“The 35-year sentence mirrors the sentence imposed following the first trial in 2023,” McCarthy said.
He added, “This is an appropriate and just outcome in light of the seriousness of this crime and the consistent findings of two separate juries who carefully evaluated the evidence.”
Sophia is an adopted child of John Negroponte, who became the first director of national intelligence for the country in 2005 after being appointed by former President George W. Bush.
John Negroponte would also go on to serve as deputy secretary of state, and work as ambassador to Mexico, the Philippines, the United Nations, and Iraq.
Sophia was one of five abandoned or orphaned Honduran children adopted by John and his wife after he became ambassador to Honduras in the 1980s.
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