An Arizona husband will spend nearly two decades in prison after he stabbed his new wife to death following a quarrel about an annulment.

Stephen Dennis, aged 38, received an 18-year prison sentence following his guilty plea to second-degree murder for the death of 37-year-old Aliccia Grant in Phoenix. According to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, police were dispatched to a north Phoenix Home Depot in the early morning hours of September 9.

Eyewitnesses reported hearing a woman, later identified as Grant, screaming for assistance. She was located in the driver’s seat of a red Toyota Prius, suffering from numerous stab wounds. Dennis was in the passenger seat and left the vehicle, confronting a bystander before fleeing the scene with a bag.

As first responders applied pressure to Grant’s injuries, she “made a dying declaration” identifying Dennis as her assailant, prosecutors noted.

Paramedics transported Grant to the hospital, where she was declared deceased by medical personnel. Shortly after the incident, Dennis contacted 911 to admit to stabbing his wife and disclosed the location of the knife, which was subsequently recovered by officers.

Dennis later said the couple had been recently married and were arguing about an annulment at the time of the stabbing, per prosecutors.

“This was more than just a violent act — it was a profound betrayal by someone who should have been a protector, not a threat,” County Attorney Rachel Mitchell stated. “There’s a unique cruelty in murder perpetrated within a relationship that is supposed to be grounded in trust. We remain committed to pursuing and prosecuting violent domestic offenders vigorously.”

Grant left behind two children. Her friends remembered her for her “endlessly hopeful energy,” a GoFundMe page said.

The account recalls, “Aliccia accepted no limits on her dreams. She pursued them earnestly and passionately. She was a self-made businesswoman, beautician, writer, and model. Her life exemplifies persistence and the power of self-belief.”