A Henrietta man on Tuesday was sentenced to the maximum penalty — life in prison without the possibility of parole — for fatally stabbing his parents and sister inside the family’s Henrietta home in 2023.
Convicted after bench trial
Rajab A. Banahi, 43, was convicted last month of three counts of first-degree murder and one count of aggravated criminal contempt following a bench trial in Monroe County Court.
The trial was held in April, and Monroe County Court Judge Michael Dollinger delivered the guilty verdict on June 23, according to the Monroe County District Attorney’s Office.
Maximum sentence imposed
At Tuesday’s sentencing, Banahi received three concurrent sentences of life without the possibility of parole — one for each murder conviction — meaning he will serve the life sentences at the same time, the district attorney’s office said.
Three family members killed in Kathy Drive home
The killings occurred Jan. 11, 2023, during a domestic dispute at the family’s home on Kathy Drive in Henrietta.
Prosecutors said Banahi stabbed his father, Ali Banahi, his mother, Mastoora Banahi, and his sister, Masuda Banahi, multiple times with one or more kitchen knives. He also beat all three victims.
Ali Banahi and Mastoora Banahi died at the scene, according to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.
Masuda Banahi, 43, of Virginia, was taken to Strong Memorial Hospital with life-threatening injuries. She died several weeks later.
Authorities said Rajab Banahi called 911 and told dispatchers he had stabbed members of his family. He was taken into custody at the scene.
‘Only appropriate sentence’
Assistant District Attorney Patrick Gallagher, who prosecuted the case with Assistant District Attorney Michael Harrigan, said life without parole was “the only appropriate sentence for this extreme act of violence.”
“Rajab Banahi murdered his father, mother, and sister in a brutal act of domestic violence that shattered an entire family,” Gallagher said. “For the remaining members of the Banahi family, there is no relief, no closure, just the end of this devastating and horrific chapter.”
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Henrietta man sentenced to life without parole for 2023 murders of parents, sister
Reporting by Victoria E. Freile, New York Connect Team / Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Victoria E. Freile, New York Connect Team | USA TODAY Network
