An Illegal Immigrant Killed My Daughter. Steve Descano Could Have Stopped It.

Today my daughter Stephanie would have turned 42.

There won’t be a cake or a phone call. I’ll honor Stephanie’s birthday the way I have every day since February 23 — missing my daughter and grieving all the moments and memories that were stolen from us.

Stephanie was stabbed to death inside a bus shelter in Hybla Valley, Virginia, on her way home. The man charged with killing her, Abdul Jalloh, is an illegal immigrant from Sierra Leone who had been arrested more than 30 times. Rape. Malicious wounding. Assault. Over and over, the charges were dropped by the office of Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano.

Police saw this coming. In May 2025, after a stabbing victim identified Jalloh, detectives asked Descano’s prosecutors to fight to keep him in jail. A police major wrote to Descano’s chief deputy asking why Jalloh was already back on the street, and warned that it was a matter of “when,” not “if,” he hurt someone again.