Man sentenced to nearly 23 years for killing 6-year-old girl while fleeing police

As a convicted man attempted to apologize Wednesday in Hennepin County District Court for killing a 6-year-old girl during a high-speed chase with police last summer, the judge stopped him with a stern interjection.

"It wasn't a mistake. It was intentional, outrageous conduct, pure and simple," Judge Peter Cahill told Hakeem W. Muhammad. "There is nothing you can say to put yourself in good light. No matter what punishment I can give you, it can't be compared to the pain the family feels."

Muhammad, 29, received the maximum penalty of nearly 23 years after pleading guilty to two felony counts, causing a death and inflicting great bodily harm while fleeing police, in connection with the collision at N. 53rd and Humboldt avenues that killed Blessings McLaurin-Grey, a Disney princess-obsessed girl who beat the odds of a rare chromosomal disorder only to have her life snuffed out by Muhammad as she headed home from the pool last summer on July 15. Blessings' 15-year-old cousin was also severely injured in the crash. Wanted on an outstanding murder warrant, he topped speeds of 90 mph on Brooklyn Center residential streets before colliding with a car carrying Blessings and her cousins.

"What I thought was going to be a fun day for my kids and niece turned out to be one of the worst days of my life," Blessings' aunt April McHerron said.

She can't shake that feeling of helplessness or the look on the kids' faces out of her head.

Grief filled the courtroom, but not only from Blessings' family. Across the aisle sat loved ones of Devan Dampier, 29, who Muhammad is accused of fatally shooting on April 7, 2022, in north Minneapolis.

Dampier's 11-year-old daughter Peyton Parayno said she is sad, confused and angry that her dad, a "kind-hearted man," is gone but Muhammad is still here.

"He had no reason to hurt him or that little girl," Parayno cried out while being held tightly by her mother, Alsaisha Lingbeck, Dampier's fiancée.

As Blessings' mother Diane McLaurin started reading her victim impact statement, she broke down in tears and placed her head on the podium. Unable to carry on, a victim advocate put her hand on McLaurin's back in comfort and read it to Cahill instead.

"The system put her in harm's way to catch the bad guy ... I have received the maximum sentence. When you grieve the loss of a child it's never in the natural order of things. For a child to die before her parents is a nightmare that never ends."

The statement ended with a painful rendition of Blessings' favorite song "Let It Go" from the movie "Frozen." Blessings' father Cortel Grey said it's impossible to forgive or forget.

"Not a day goes by that we don't speak of Blessings. Not a holiday goes by that we don't huddle together and cry," Grey said.

This weekend is Father's Day and his birthday. He's left reflecting on Blessings' butterfly kisses, joyfulness and fighting spirit. "My baby was a warrior," he said.

Blessings' family uprooted their life in Illinois and moved to the Twin Cities four years ago after finding hope in doctors at the Children's Hospital to treat her Turner syndrome. Grey has since moved back to Illinois because there's nothing for him here now, he said.

Blessings was laid to rest in tiny pink casket wearing a sparkling tiara and sunglasses.

Grey said he will continue fighting for changes to police high-speed chase policies. The family has retained attorney Lee Hutton, who plans to take civil action.

Muhammed said before Cahill handed down his sentence that "every day I wish it would've been me instead of their daughter."

Grey said Muhammed should've been charged and convicted of murder.

Blessings' family hopes greater accountability comes of Dampier's murder case. That trial is slated for October.