Man convicted of 2007 murder of Stepha Henry in South Florida – NBC 6 South Florida

Nearly two decades after a New York woman disappeared in South Florida, the man on trial for her murder has been found guilty in a Broward County court.

A Broward County jury found Kendrick Williams guilty of murdering Stepha Henry nearly two decades ago in South Florida. Williams was charged with her murder in 2007 and has denied killing the 22-year-old, but prosecutors say DNA blood evidence found in the car he originally bought in Brooklyn and that he later denied ever owning or driving played a significant role in the legal proceedings. case.

Henry’s mother, father and sister were in court when the verdict was read. They spoke with NBC6 Friday afternoon.

“It’s literally a weight that’s lifted off your shoulders as soon as you hear that guilty verdict,” Shola Henry said. “It’s just a relief and we can exhale and finally breathe because we know she got the justice she deserved.”

The tragic series of events that led to Henry’s disappearance and death began on Memorial Day weekend in 2007. The aspiring lawyer from Brooklyn was celebrating her younger sister’s birthday in Miami.

Investigators say Henry and Williams went to a nightclub in Sunrise and she was never seen again after that night.

Where she was killed remains a mystery. Williams told police he left the club alone, but detectives found evidence proving they left the club together.

“We think he got exactly what he deserved,” Henry said. “We knew it all had to be him because no one in the world could hate such a beautiful and vibrant girl.”

Shola Henry describes her older sister as vibrant, fun, smart and powerful. Henry was a graduate of John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York. She would have been 40 years old at the time of the trial.

Years later, the family says they are at peace.

“For 17 years without knowing it, until this day we won’t know what happened to him, but at least we know who did this is behind bars,” Henry said. “Just imagining the type of lawyer she would have been, we believe our family has not lost. America has lost a leader, someone who would have been a force to be reckoned with in the system judicial.”

“I hope this verdict has finally given Stepha Henry’s family some sense of justice after a long and painful wait,” said Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle. “I know that nothing, even this verdict, will ever replace the senseless loss of a young girl whose life was so full of promise.

Williams will be sentenced on November 8.