An Auburn man has been sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for a fatal stabbing in Syracuse in 2024.
According to reporting by The Citizen, 31-year-old Tyler Kilmer was sentenced Monday in Onondaga County Court by Judge Gordon Cuffy after being convicted of second-degree murder.
A jury found Kilmer guilty following a four-day trial in October. Prosecutors said Kilmer fatally stabbed 31-year-old DeVonte Crosby at about 7 a.m. on Nov. 14, 2024, following a domestic dispute on Oswego Street in Syracuse.
The Citizen reported that Syracuse police had responded to the scene twice that morning before the stabbing. Officers initially determined the dispute had deescalated. During a second encounter, police instructed Kilmer, who was reportedly intoxicated, to leave the area.
Crosby was Kilmer’s boyfriend. During the trial, Kilmer testified that the two were struggling over a knife and that he feared for his life. He also told jurors he did not intend to stab Crosby.
However, prosecutors challenged that account, citing Kilmer’s lack of injuries and inconsistencies between his trial testimony and statements he made to police following the incident.
