A Montgomery County judge sentenced Sophia Negroponte, daughter of former U.S. intelligence director John Negroponte, to 35 years in prison for the fatal stabbing of her friend during a drunken argument in Rockville, Maryland.

Second Conviction Brings Same Sentence

Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Terrence McGann handed down the sentence Friday after a jury found Negroponte, 33, guilty of second-degree murder in November for killing 24-year-old Yousuf Rasmussen. The conviction marked her second trial for the same crime after an appeals court overturned her initial 2023 conviction. State’s Attorney John McCarthy confirmed the 35-year sentence matched the original punishment from the first trial, calling it appropriate given the seriousness of the crime and the consistent findings from two separate juries.

The appeals court ruled in 2024 that jurors in the first trial had improperly heard contested portions of a police interrogation and testimony from a prosecution witness who questioned Negroponte’s credibility. The legal victory proved temporary as a second jury reached the same guilty verdict after carefully reviewing the evidence. Prosecutors presented a clear timeline showing Rasmussen left the Rockville home after the argument but returned to retrieve his cellphone, when Negroponte armed herself with a knife and stabbed him in the neck.

Prominent Family Background

Sophia Negroponte is the adopted daughter of John Negroponte, who President George W. Bush appointed as the nation’s first intelligence director in 2005. Her father later served as deputy secretary of state and held ambassador positions to Mexico, the Philippines, the United Nations, and Iraq. The Negropontes adopted Sophia from a Honduran orphanage when she was a baby during John Negroponte’s tenure as ambassador to Honduras.

Friends With Similar Histories

Rasmussen shared a similar background with Negroponte, having also been adopted into a successful family. Family members described their relationship as platonic and playful, explaining the bond formed over their shared adoption experiences. The evening started with what witnesses described as adolescent wrestling and playful behavior between the two friends. McCarthy explained they had been wrestling earlier before the fatal encounter in February 2020. The tragedy unfolded when what began as friendly roughhousing escalated into a drunken argument, ending with a violent attack that took Rasmussen’s life when he returned for his forgotten cellphone.