A Minneapolis man was remorseful and emotional when he admitted in court to strangling his girlfriend’s brother in a dispute last spring that got “out of hand,” his attorney said.
Steven Maurice Abrams made the admission during a court hearing in Ramsey County District Court on Friday, where the 55-year-old pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree intentional murder in the death of Carlton Campbell.
Neither Campbell nor Abram’s relatives could be immediately reached for comment.
His public defender, Thomas Handley, said family members were in attendance during the hearing, which he described as “very emotional.”
“It’s just a really tragic situation,” Handley said. “Mr. Abrams was friends with this person and things just got out of hand that day. He regrets that it happened and accepts responsibility.”
Abrams was still choking Campbell when police arrived at his girlfriend’s New Brighton home this past April 14 in response to a report of a domestic disturbance, according to the criminal complaint filed against him.
The girlfriend had ordered Abrams out of her apartment on the 1400 block of 20th Avenue Northwest earlier that day after a fight. When he returned that evening, Campbell, the woman’s 58-year-old brother, let him inside.
Abrams quickly began assaulting his longtime girlfriend, prompting her brother to intervene and call 911.
That’s when Abrams turned his attention toward Campbell, according to the criminal complaint.
Abrams threw him to the ground, knelt on top of him, wrapped his hands around his neck and began choking him, court records say.
He didn’t stop when Campbell told him he couldn’t breathe, nor when he lost consciousness, according to the complaint. He finally stepped away when police announced their presence at the apartment door around 8 p.m.
Campbell was taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital, where he died a short time later.
Abrams has a long criminal history, including several convictions for disorderly conduct, as well as convictions for theft, possession of drug paraphernalia, driving while intoxicated, obstructing the legal process and assaulting a police officer.
He is expected to be sentenced in November to between 13 and 15 years in prison per the terms of a plea deal reached with prosecutors, Handley said.
“(Abrams) is going to try to move on with his life as best he can,” Handley said. “He is 55 years old now. He is going to make the most of the time he is going to get … in service to his inmates.”