HOUSTON – A Harris County man was sentenced to 25 years in prison for stabbing a stranger to death during an unprovoked attack in 2015.
Ryan Whitaker, 48, was convicted of murder Tuesday in the death of Anthony Kinkaid, 55.
Whitaker requested to be sentenced by a judge for the April 2015 crime.
On the night of the crime, Whitaker was seen attacking Kincaid with a knife. Kincaid was face down in the grass.
Authorities later discovered that Whitaker attacked Kincaid while he was washing his truck in his driveway.
Whitaker admitted to authorities that he stabbed Kincaid out of anger and attempted to give him a Columbian necktie.
Out of the 140 stab wounds found on Kincaid's body, all but 10 were on his neck and head.
“This was the scariest murder either of us have tried,” Assistant District Attorney Napoleon Stewart said. “Stabbings are such an intimate crime, it takes rage and determination to accomplish and, this was a true stranger-on-stranger attack.”
This was the third time prosecutors tried this case. The two previous trials ended with hung juries.
“It was important for us to try this case again because the victim and his family deserve closure and justice,” Assistant District Attorney Keaton Forcht said. “We respect the court’s decision and stand with the family in sharing their satisfaction on this outcome.”