SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) - Prosecutors said on Monday they will charge a Yankton man with first- and second-degree murder and manslaughter for allegedly stabbing a woman in Sioux Falls.
Josephdeng Aganj Mamot, 50, was arrested on Sunday after stabbing a 39-year-old woman to death, according to police. An officer said the suspect and the victim, identified as Akoat Mater, lived together and there had been a verbal altercation. Mamot was also injured in the incident.
Minnehaha County State’s Attorney Crystal Johnson said the first-degree murder charge is punishable by life imprisonment or the death penalty. In order to punish Mamot for first-degree murder, prosecutors will have to show he premeditated the murder.
Johnson said that under South Dakota law, it doesn’t matter how much time passes between premeditating a murder and carrying it out.
“Premeditation can be formed in an instant,” she said.
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