Former Director of National Intelligence’s Daughter Found Guilty of Murder for Killing Maryland Airbnb Friend

Sophia Negroponte, daughter of former Director of National Intelligence convicted of murder for killing friend, Yousuf Rasmussen, on Airbnb

Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office (2) Sophia Negroponte, Yousuf Rasmussen

Sophia Negropontethe 29-year-old daughter of a Bush administration official John Negropontewas convicted of second-degree murder on Tuesday in the 2020 stabbing death of her friend.

On the night of February 13, 2020, officers in Rockville, Maryland responded to a 911 call reporting that a man had been stabbed in the neck during an altercation at an Airbnb. When officers arrived, they found Negroponte covered in blood and lying on top of Yousuf Rasmussen, 24, yelling “I’m sorry,” according to charging documents obtained by PEOPLE.

First responders pronounced Rasmussen dead at the scene and took Negroponte into custody, where she allegedly told police she did not remember attacking Rasmussen, but recalled arguing over a “problem idiot” and then removing a knife from Rasmussen’s neck.

RELATED: Daughter of former US Ambassador John Negroponte accused of stabbing man to death

“Yousuf was a kind and gentle soul, a loving person who brought our family and his many friends great joy during his 24 years of life,” Rasmussen’s family said in a statement this week. “We will carry it with us forever.”

Following Negroponte’s sentencing on Tuesday — in which the jury determined she acted with a “depraved heart” on the night of the stabbing — the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office announced that she was due to be sentenced on March 31, where she faces up to 40 years in prison.

The Negroponte family Told The Washington Post that they discuss a possible appeal with their lawyers.

President Bush, left, shakes hands with Under Secretary of State John Negroponte, right, after taking the solemn oath at the State Department in Washington on Tuesday, February 27, 2007.

President Bush, left, shakes hands with Under Secretary of State John Negroponte, right, after taking the solemn oath at the State Department in Washington on Tuesday, February 27, 2007.

Charles Dharapak/AP Photo President George W. Bush and John Negroponte

Negroponte is one of five children John and Diana Negroponte adopted from Honduras.

John, now 83, has enjoyed a long political career since the Reagan administration, over time serving as US Ambassador to Honduras, Mexico, the Philippines, Iraq and the United Nations .

Under President George W. Bush, he served as the nation’s first Director of National Intelligence and eventually became Assistant Secretary of State.

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“Neither prosecutors nor perhaps the jury gave sufficient consideration to the complexities and mitigating circumstances of the case – Sophia’s past trauma and other factors that led to a very troubled existence. She had severe alcohol use disorder,” John said. The Washington Post after the jury has rendered its verdict.

“We love this young lady very much and we love her very much,” he added. “We don’t want to see his life ruined in prison.”

John, who sat in the second row of the courtroom every day of the trial, according to the Jobsaid his daughter lived with him and Diana and has been sober for nearly three years now, suggesting she quit drinking shortly after Rasmussen’s death.

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