Father forgives man sentenced for killing his son

Father forgives man sentenced for
killing his son

The father of a murdered pizza delivery driver forgave and embraced the man who was sentenced to prison for playing a part in his son’s death.

During the sentencing on Tuesday, Abdul-Munim Sombat Jitmoud hugged the defendant, Trey Alexander Relford, who cried as it happened.

The father said he did it in the spirit of Islam.

“Islam teaches that God will not be able to forgive” someone until the person who was wronged forgives that person, Jitmoud told CNN affiliate WKYT. “The door of opportunity for God to forgive him is open. … So, reach out to Him. You have a new chapter of good life coming,” he told Relford in court.

In April 2015, Salahuddin Jitmoud was making one of his last deliveries for the night as a Pizza Hut delivery driver when he was stabbed to death and robbed at an apartment complex in Lexington, Kentucky, according to WKYT. His body was found lying in the breezeway of the complex.

Three people were arrested in the crime, but a grand jury chose only to indict Relford, WKYT reported. Officials say Relford planned the robbery, but he denied killing Jitmoud.

Relford was sentenced to 31 years in prison after pleading guilty to complicity to murder, complicity to robbery, and attempted evidence tampering in the stabbing death of Jitmoud.