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This is the awe-inspiring moment that the father of a murder victim
hugged his son's killer in court after bringing the judge to tears by
forgiving the young man.
Trey Relford, 24, was sentenced to 31 years in prison on Tuesday in
connection to the April 19, 2015 murder of Salahuddin Jitmoud, who was
stabbed to death and robbed while delivering a pizza in Lexington,
Kentucky.
During the sentencing hearing on Tuesday, Jitmoud's father, Dr. Abdul-Munim
Sombat Jitmoud remembered his son as a gentle, generous, and shy young
man who had an interest in rapping, writing and producing.
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Dr. Jitmoud said that his son had just 'one more delivery' to make the
night he was murdered, making his death all the more tragic.
At the end of his speech, he shocked the court when he turned to his
son's killer and said he doesn't blame him for what happened.
'I'm angry at the devil who misguided you to do such a crime,' he said.
Dr. Jitmoud added that it was important to forgive him because
'forgiveness is the greatest gift of charity in Islam'.
His speech went to far as to move the judge, who wiped away a tear
before calling a recess.
When court resumed, Relford's mother took the stand and described how
her son had a great childhood but descended into drug abuse as a teen.
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'I take total, full responsibility for the loss of your beautiful son,'
Relford's mother told Dr. Jitmoud. 'I am deeply sorry for your loss. I
am shocked at your forgiveness.'
Eventually, Relford himself apologized for what happened.
'I'm sorry about what happened that day,' Relford said. 'I do applaud
you because it takes a powerful man to know that someone has hurt them
and to get up there and say what you just said. I can't imagine the
hurt, the pain. There's nothing I can do ... I thank you for your
forgiveness.'
Later, Dr. Jitmoud went to shake Relford's hand, and the two ended up
locked in an embrace, with other members of the two families coming
around to join in.
Two others were originally arrested along with Relford for the murder,
but a grand jury only decided to go forward with charges against one of
them.
Relford maintains that he had help, but prosecutor Kathy Phillips said
that all the signs point to Relford being the killed.
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'He set up the robbery, he provided the knife, he tampered with the
evidence, and he is the one who ate the pizza afterwards,' she said.
Dr. Jitmoud used to work as a principal at Islamic schools across the
country, but he now lives in Thailand. His wife, Salahuddin's mother,
died in 2013, two years before the murder.
Relford pleaded guilty last month to complicity to murder, complicity to
robbery and attempted tampering with evidence.
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