On Wednesday, Sean Urbanski was found guilty of first-degree murder in the fatal stabbing of Army 2nd Lt. Richard Collins III in May 2017 at the University of Maryland, reports WTOP.
On Tuesday, The Root reported that the judge had dropped the hate crime charge against Urbanski. Nevertheless, the prosecution still argued on the final day of the trial that the crime was racially motivated and that the fact he watched Collins talking with his two friends for 10 minutes before returning with an open knife constituted intent. The defense never argued that Urbanski didn’t stab Collins but instead that he was too drunk during the incident to properly have a premeditated motive and argued for a lesser charge of second-degree murder.
After a six day trial, the jury deliberated for around two hours before returning with the verdict. Urbanski, 24, will be sentenced on April 6 and faces life in prison without parole. Prince George County State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy issued a statement indicating her office would seek the maximum sentence.