A man who once appeared on "America's Most Wanted" was found guilty Wednesday of murdering his girlfriend in North Miami Beach back in 2008.
In less than two hours of deliberations, the jury found Abraham Mpaka guilty of first-degree murder and burglary with assault or battery. Judge Robert Watson also sentenced Mpaka to life in prison without parole.
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WATCH HEREAccording to police, Mpaka stabbed Coty Paul in the heart at her friend's apartment in North Miami Beach. Paul – a mother of two children at the time – was watching TV with her best friend Christiane Charles. Mpaka lived next door.
Mpaka claimed he had never been to Charles' apartment.
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But Charles claimed she saw Mpaka pull out a knife and kill Paul. Doctors said the knife crushed Paul’s chest into the heart. Mpaka claimed this eyewitness hated Africans.
"For centuries, Africa has been vilified as the dark continent," he said. "Africa has been vilified where savages wild."
Police said he then fled the state. Law enforcement agencies reached out to reality television shows like “America’s Most Wanted” to help with the search.
He was arrested three years later in Minnesota, apparently using fake IDs. Video shows him buying a knife at Walmart hours before the murder.
Mpaka said he was framed by police to benefit their careers and was tortured into confessing.
Mpaka, who’s been representing himself in the trial, asked the court to appoint him an attorney since he plans to ask for a new trial and appeal.
After the verdict, Paul’s family felt excited for the verdict they have been waiting 15 years for.
Tatiana Paul, the victim's daughter who also testified in the trial, told NBC6 exclusively that she misses her mother. She still remembers her unique voice and love for the kitchen.
“She passed when I was 13. You need your mother at that time. My brother was four at the time," she said. "It’s been a roller coaster. Its pain. It’s been growth. But you know they are life tribulations. We are here today and we are excited about that."
