A Virginia mother stabbed to death at a Fairfax County bus stop last week, and police say the suspect is a Sierra Leone national who entered the U.S. illegally and has a lengthy arrest history, according to local and federal authorities.
The victim, 41-year-old Stephanie Minter of Fredericksburg, was found inside a bus stop shelter on Richmond Highway with multiple stab wounds to her upper body, Fairfax County Police said. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigators identified 32-year-old Abdul Jalloh as the suspect after reviewing surveillance footage and conducting interviews that indicated he was the last person seen with Minter and had exited a bus with her, police said.
Jalloh was arrested on Tuesday after someone recognized him entering a business, authorities said. He has been charged with second-degree murder, along with petit larceny related to an alleged offense earlier that day.
The Department of Homeland Security said Jalloh entered the United States illegally in 2012 and that an ICE detainer was lodged against him in 2020. DHS also stated that a judge issued a final order of removal to a country other than Sierra Leone. Meanwhile, CBS News reported that a federal judge ruled Wednesday that DHS’s policy allowing removal to “third countries” without notice or an opportunity to appeal is unlawful.
Federal authorities said Jalloh has been arrested more than 30 times on allegations including rape, assault, malicious wounding, drug possession, identity theft, trespassing, larceny, and firearms-related offenses.
In her obituary, Minter was remembered as a “happy, jolly individual” and “a beam of light in dark places.” She is survived by her son, mother, three brothers, grandmother, and other relatives and friends.
Police have not announced a motive, and it remains unclear whether Minter and Jalloh knew each other. Jalloh is being held without bond, and ICE has lodged a detainer requesting that Virginia authorities not release him.
