Murder victim’s father forgives killer in court

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ) – According to the Herald Leader,  Trey Alexander Relford was sentenced on Tuesday to 31 years in prison for the 2015 stabbing death of a Pizza Hut delivery driver, during his hearing, the victim’s father forgave him.

Relford and the father, Abdul-Munim Sombat Jitmoud, hugged in the courtroom.

Relford apologized to Jitmoud.

Relford, 24, pleaded guilty last month to complicity to murder, complicity to robbery and attempted tampering with evidence in the stabbing death of  22-year-old Salahuddin Jitmoud.

Had Relford been convicted at trial he could have faced the death penalty.

During the hearing, the elder Jitmoud was called to the witness stand to give a routine victim-impact statement before sentencing.

Jitmoud, who now lives in Thailand, addressed Relford directly and said, “I’m not angry at you.”

The guilty plea was conditional, which means Relford will ask higher courts to review several pretrial rulings that dealt with the admissibility of certain evidence had the case gone to trial.