Sophia Negroponte, the daughter of former U.S. director of national intelligence John Negroponte, was charged with first-degree murder Friday after police said she stabbed an acquaintance in the neck, reports The Washington Post.
Sophia, 27, allegedly stabbed Yousuf Rasmussen, 24, Thursday night at a home in Rockville, Md., after the pair had been arguing, according to the police affidavit. Police walked in to find Rasmussen, “suffering from what appeared to be a cutting wound.”
He was pronounced dead at the scene.
John Negroponte served in multiple roles in President George W. Bush’s administration, and in 2005 became the country’s first director of national intelligence.
He and his wife, Diana Negroponte, adopted five children from Honduras. Sophia is one of them.
“We love her deeply,” Diana said in a brief interview with the Post Friday.
“She was trying to live on her own and attend college,” her mother said. “And she has our total support.”
According to a witness, Sophia and Rasmussen had been drinking. The pair were arguing and at one point started grappling on the floor. Things cooled down and all three continued watching TV.
Sophia and Rasmussen started arguing again, according to the witness, before Rasmussen started looking through his backpack for his phone. Sophia pulled a knife out of a drawer in the kitchen, removed the sheath from the knife and lunged at Rasmussen in what [the witness] ‘described as an ‘aggressive’ manner,” police wrote in their affidavit.
The witness then said the knife was being directed toward Rasmussen’s neck while Rasmussen’s arms were up in the air. Sophia then fell on top of him.
Sophia told police that she and Rasmussen had an altercation and argued over a “silly issue,” though she told police she only “remembers removing a knife from Rasmussen’s neck and laying atop him yelling for him not to die.”
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.