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Left: Stephon Dubose (Durham police). Right: Angela Risi (Legacy.com).
On what was meant to be a day of celebration, Angela Marina Risi’s birthday turned somber as a North Carolina courtroom witnessed the sentencing of her murderer. Instead of marking another year of her life, justice caught up with the man who ended it, all because she declined to enter an exclusive relationship with him.
The court handed down a sentence of 35 to 44 years to Stephon Dubose, 32, who was found guilty of second-degree murder and attempted murder. This punishment comes after Dubose opened fire in 2023 in Durham, taking Angela’s life and leaving her roommate, who now relies on a cane, with lasting injuries.
“Today, February 23rd, marks Angela’s birthday,” Angela’s father, Matt Risi, shared with the judge, as reported by the local NBC affiliate, WRAL. “She would have celebrated her 33rd birthday today.”
Angela’s family traveled from California to witness the sentencing of Dubose, seeking closure and justice for their beloved daughter.
In a heartfelt statement, Matt Risi described his daughter as “a wonderful soul who cared deeply for disadvantaged people,” emphasizing her loving nature and the void her untimely death has left in their lives.
Dubose, who was credited for the more than two years he has already served in jail, also addressed the court and apologized to Risi’s family.
“I understand that y’all don’t want to forgive me,” he said. “I wouldn’t either if I were in your shoes.”
He said he was on drugs at the time of the murder but realized his misdeeds once he came to his senses.
“I took accountability before I even had legal counsel because I knew I was wrong. I will stand on that,” he reportedly said. “I’m not running away from it.”
As Law&Crime previously reported, cops responded to a home in the 1000 block of Worth Street for a shooting shortly after 7 a.m. on Oct. 2, 2023. When cops arrived, they found Risi suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. In a bedroom, they found Risi’s roommate also suffering from gunshot wounds. Both were transported to a hospital where doctors pronounced Risi dead.
Risi’s roommate told cops that “Jimmy” shot them. Dubose goes by Jimmy, police said.
About a half hour after the shooting, officers responded to a home in the 4000 block of Tranquil Road for a stabbing. Dubose showed up at his family’s home and began stabbing himself, prompting them to call 911. Officers responded and were able to get the knife away from him. Dubose told the cops he just “shot a female in the face and wasn’t going back to prison and couldn’t live anymore,” an affidavit for a search warrant said.
Matt Risi previously told WRAL that moments before his daughter was murdered, she and Dubose were in his car, where they argued over the future of their relationship. Dubose wanted an “exclusive relationship” but she didn’t want that, her father explained. She left his car and went into her home.
“He broke in, then chased her to the back of the house … fired 11 rounds, shot her eight times, with a handgun, 9-millimeter handgun,” he said. “And then, even more amazing, is he then burst into the bedroom of Angela’s roommate and shot her three times. She survived but is permanently disabled.”
Matt Risi called his daughter a “really wonderful person.”
“Very bright, very smart, always fun,” he said in an interview with WRAL. “At her celebration of life, there were well over 200 people who attended and many more who wanted to come as well.”
Angela Risi was a second-year graduate student in the dance program at Duke University, the school told local ABC affiliate WTVD at the time.
“The Duke community joins in their shock and sadness at this tragic loss,” the school said in a statement.
City council member Dedreana Freeman, who lived next door to the victims, told WTVD that the couple had been arguing in the days leading up to the murder.
“No one deserves to be killed for differences like that. They had an argument Friday. Things got loud and everybody could hear it. Whatever it was on Monday for you to come back and shoot, shouldn’t have happened,” she said.
The murder victim grew up in California, where she developed a passion for dance.
“She started young with ballet, modern, jazz, and tap dance,” her obituary said.