Khaliyfa Neely, the man who stabbed Nicki Minaj’s former stage manager De’Von Andre Pickett to death in 2015, has officially been convicted of third-degree murder. The incident in question arose on February 18th 2015, when Neely attacked Pickett outside of a bar in Philadelphia’s Germantown area. Pickett’s death was all the more tragic as he was gearing up to head on tour with Nicki Minaj, having secured the position of stage manager.
It took two trials before a jury was able to come to a conclusion, as the first ended in a hung jury last year; the complications likely arose by way of another suspect, Pierce Boykin, who was initially thought to be the killer. After further evidence shifted further away from Boykin, the jury was able to come to a concrete decision and Neely was convicted of third-degree murder, aggravated and simple assault and possession of an instrument of crime. While not the killer, Boykin was still charged with aggravated assault with a sentence of twenty-three months. The judge’s verdict is set to arrive on April 24th, with the possibility of a life sentence for Neely.
After his death, Minaj took to Instagram to pay respects to Pickett’s life. “These guys flew into Philly for my tour rehearsals 2 days ago and were both stabbed last night,” she wrote on Instagram, back when the incident occurred. “Unbelievable. Eric (on the right) is recovering. Another senseless act of violence that took the life of a great guy. So sad.” It might have taken a while for justice to be served on this one, but it’s good to see Pickett’s case begin to get closure.
