BARNSTABLE, MASS. (WHDH) - A 20-year-old Hyannis man who stabbed a man to death outside of a house party in 2016 was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison without parole, Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz announced.
After a weeklong trial in Barnstable Superior Court, a jury found Kelly Ridley, 20, guilty of one count of first-degree murder and two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon in connection with an attack on Oct. 22, 2016, that claimed the life of 26-year-old Thomas Russell.
Officers responding to a house party at 133 Beth Lane in Hyannis after receiving multiple 911 calls found Russell lying in the road suffering from multiple stab wounds to his abdomen and lower body, according to police.
Russell was taken to Cape Cod Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
After launching a homicide investigation, investigators spoke with multiple witnesses who said Ridley armed himself with a knife before he walked down a driveway, confronted Russell and stabbed him nine times.
“This was a brutal, senseless crime that took the life of a 26-year-old man,” Cruz said. “I am hopeful that with today’s verdict and sentence, justice was done for the family of Thomas Russell and that his family can now find some measure of peace.”
Ridley was also found guilty of striking Russell with a metal Razor scooter prior to the fatal altercation and stabbing a resident of the home who tried to break up the fight.
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