John Negroponte's Daughter Charged in Fatal Stabbing

Daughter of former top US diplomat is held in death of Maryland man after apparent argument
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Feb 16, 2020 5:36 AM CST
Ex-Diplomat's Daughter Charged in Fatal Stabbing
Sophia Negroponte has been charged with first-degree murder in the stabbing death of Yousuf Rasmussen, 24, at a residence in Rockville late Thursday, Feb. 13, 2020. Negroponte is the daughter of John Negroponte and one of five children that he and his wife adopted in Honduras.   (Montgomery County Police Dept. via AP)

A woman arrested on suspicion of fatally stabbing an acquaintance during an argument in a Maryland home has been identified as the daughter of a former US ambassador, reports the AP. Sophia Negroponte, 27, has been charged with first-degree murder in the stabbing death of Yousuf Rasmussen, 24, of Bethesda, at a residence in Rockville late Thursday, according to Montgomery County police. According to charging documents, arriving officers found Negroponte lying on top of Rasmussen, who was "suffering from what appeared to be a cutting wound," per CNN. Negroponte is the daughter of former US diplomat John Negroponte and one of five children that he and his wife adopted in Honduras in the 1980s when he served there, according to the Washington Post.

Diana Negroponte, Sophia’s mother, told the Post that their daughter has their “total support.” “We love her deeply,” she said. Police spokesman Rick Goodale said Sophia Negroponte is due in court on Tuesday for a bond review hearing. Police arrested her at the scene of the stabbing. Rasmussen’s body was taken to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore for an autopsy, police said. Detectives determined Rasmussen was stabbed during a “disagreement” with Negroponte inside the home, police said. In 2005, President George W. Bush appointed John Negroponte as the nation’s first intelligence director. He later served as deputy secretary of state. He also has been ambassador to Honduras, Mexico, the Philippines, the United Nations, and Iraq.

(More John Negroponte stories.)

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