Philly woman sentenced to 3 to 6 years in prison in fatal dorm brawl

An East Mount Airy woman who fatally stabbed a Lincoln University student during a dormitory fight in 2022 will spend three to six years in prison, a Chester County judge ruled Monday.

Nydira Smith, 41, was sentenced in the death of Jawine Evans, 21, whom she killed when she stepped into a fracas in a dorm armed with a steak knife.

Smith was convicted of involuntary manslaughter, aggravated assault and simple assault in October by a jury that spared her from murder charges.

Prosecutors, led by Deputy District Attorney Bridget Gallagher, said there was a “mountain of evidence” that Smith had intended to kill Evans when she inserted herself into a fight between college students, fatally stabbing him and injuring two others.

“Because of these actions, one person is dead and two will never be the same,” said Gallagher, who asked Judge Nicole Forzato to sentence Smith to 20 to 57 years behind bars.

Smith drove to Lincoln University on Feb. 16, 2022, after receiving a panicked call from her brother, Malik Stevens, a senior at the historically Black college. Stevens told his sister he had been attacked by a group of students who accused him of stealing another student’s wallet, and asked Smith to come take him home, fearing for his safety.

Not long after Smith arrived at her brother’s dorm, he was confronted by a larger group of students, including Evans, Clifton Walker, and Eric Dickerson, prosecutors said. A fight broke out in the building’s hallway, and Walker punched Smith in the face as she tried to break up the fight.

Fearing for her safety, Smith said she pulled out a steak knife she had taken from her home and began swinging it. Cell phone footage played during the trial showed her stabbing Evans as she swung. The wound severed an artery in Evans’ neck and punctured his lung. Walker and Dickerson also received stab minor stab wounds.

Evans, a graduate of South Philadelphia High, died at the scene.

His mother, Beverly, said Monday that Smith’s split-second decision had robbed her of countless memories of her son, whom, she said, had yet to truly begin his life.

“How dare you do that to me?” she said. “You had no right to take my son’s life from me.”

In court Monday, Smith’s attorney, Gregory Pagano, painted her as a protective older sister, who feared for her and her brother’s safety when confronted by men he referred to during trial as “relentless predators.” He presented 38 letters attesting to Smith’s good character and a handful of witnesses Monday who spoke glowingly of Smith as a community builder who often volunteered her time to help people experiencing homelessness.

In a tearful statement in court, Smith addressed Evans’ family and the judge and said she felt her life was in danger that night in the dorm.

She said she is a peaceful person and that her family has recently lost relatives to gun violence. The thought that she had robbed another family of a loved one haunted her, she said.

“While you may not be able to forgive me in this current state, I ask you to consider that I am a decent person,” Smith said. “That I do what is right.”