A 29-year-old New Jersey man was sentenced to 55 years in state prison for fatally stabbing his ex-girlfriend, prosecutors said.
Ahigjah Broomes, 29, was convicted of murder in the Montclair attack, according to court records.
The victim, 20-year-old Akirah Townes, was preparing to leave for a trip to Virginia Beach with friends, authorities said.
Townes was a Kean University student studying special education who was expected to graduate later that year, authorities said.
Her family said she earned a 4.0 GPA, made the Dean’s List, and planned to become a teacher. She had been inspired to pursue special education by a late brother who lived with disabilities, relatives said.
Townes was the youngest of 11 children, according to her family.
Townes and Broomes had known each other for years and were described in contemporaneous reports as high school sweethearts. Her family later described the relationship as toxic, records show.
Townes ended the relationship approximately four months before her death, prosecutors said. Broomes continued stalking her afterward, according to authorities.
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During the early morning hours of April 27, 2018, Townes was with a group of friends when Broomes approached armed with a knife, prosecutors said.
Broomes stabbed Townes multiple times as she attempted to escape, prosecutors said. Her friends tried to intervene during the attack before Broomes fled the scene, according to authorities.
Around 6 a.m., authorities responded to Hartley Street near Bloomfield Avenue in Montclair, New Jersey, after Townes was repeatedly stabbed. She was transported to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead, police said.
Broomes later turned himself in and was charged with murder and weapons offenses, police said.
Following the killing, her family organized a domestic violence march and rally in Townes’ honor, records show.
Nearly eight years later, on March 23, 2026, a jury found Broomes guilty of first-degree murder, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and unlawful possession of a weapon, court records show.
On September 15, 2026, Broomes was sentenced to 55 years in New Jersey State Prison for Townes’ murder, according to prosecutors.
Under New Jersey’s No Early Release Act, he must serve 85 percent of the sentence before becoming eligible for parole.
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