Jury Deciding Fate Of Philly Woman In Lincoln University Murder Case

WEST CHESTER, PA —A jury began deliberating Wednesday in the trial of Nydira Smith, who is accused of first-degree murder in the fatal stabbing of a student and wounding of two others at Lincoln University.

Smith, 40, of Mount Airy, is accused of the Feb. 16, 2022 stabbing of Jawine Evans, 21, during a 9 p.m. brawl in a dormitory on the campus in Lower Oxford Township in southwestern Chester County.

Smith, who is the sister of a student involved in the fight, is also accused of wounding students Clifton Walker and Eric Dickerson, both 22 at the time.

First-degree murder carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison.

Smith testified Tuesday in the trial before Judge Nicole Forzato that she drove to the university because she received a call from her brother, Malik Stevens, that his roommate was attacked and asked to be picked up.

Smith testified Tuesday afternoon that she was trying to separate two groups who were fighting outside the dorm.

Smith said she was waving a knife and accidentally stabbed Evans, a senior, who was expected to graduate in 2022. She told the jury that when she learned that he had died she was in shock.

“It was a somber moment,” Smith testified, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. “I didn’t know that had taken place. I never wanted it to result in that.”

Smith’s attorney, Gregory Pagan, said in his closing statement that Smith was acting in self-defense to protect her brother.

Deputy District Attorney Bridget Gallagher said Smith’s statements about the fight were fabrications to avoid a conviction.

Investigators recovered a video that showed the stabbings. The video also showed the defendant plunging a knife into Evans’ neck, after which Evans staggers backward and bleeding from his neck.

Smith is being held in Chester County Prison without bail.