Nearly eight years after Candace Samples was stabbed to death behind a Salt Lake City Dollar Tree, the man convicted of killing her has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Third District Judge Kristine Johnson sentenced Kidus Yohannes on Tuesday for aggravated murder in the November 2018 death of Samples, who was 20. Yohannes also received a zero-to-five-year sentence for attempted manslaughter in the stabbing of Jeffrey Plante, who survived.
Police said Samples had taken Yohannes’ cell phone at the Marmalade Library. Prosecutors said Yohannes later confronted Samples and others in a dumpster enclosure behind the now-closed Dollar Tree at 477 N. 300 West, threatening to use a knife unless he got the phone back.
WATCH | Man sentenced to life without parole in 2018 Salt Lake City stabbing
Plante ran to help after hearing about the confrontation, prosecutors said. Yohannes stabbed Plante, then stabbed Samples 20 times. She died shortly after arriving at a hospital.
Yohannes was charged in 2021. The case did not reach trial until August, after delays involving DNA testing, competency evaluations and witness availability. A jury found Yohannes guilty of aggravated murder and found he acted in imperfect self-defense in Plante’s stabbing, resulting in an attempted-manslaughter conviction.
Salt Lake City
Man sentenced to life without parole for 2018 murder over stolen phone
Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill said the sentence ensures Yohannes will never be released from prison.
“This person will never be out,” Gill said. “This person will die in prison for the harm that he did.”
At sentencing, Samples’ family described the lasting impact of losing her. Her sister, Celeste Swift, said Candace was “so far beyond just another homeless person.”
“She was our whole family’s world,” Swift said.
Annette Atwood, who raised Samples, said the sentence will not erase the grief but may help the family move forward.
“To finally have this be behind us and be able to move forward and actually try to find some peace and forgiveness, this is going to help,” Atwood said. “I can see that there’s going to be some healing.”