Judge Delays Sentencing After Convicted Murderer Refuses To Leave Jail Cell

Convicted murderer David Wright, who shot and killed his ex-girlfriend in September 2025, did not show up to court for his sentencing on Friday, prompting a judge to move the hearing to next week on Monday.

According to Fox9, Wight refused to leave his jail cell.

After the judge pushed David Wright's sentencing to Monday, the victim's family spoke up, with her cousin, Demi Callender, calling the judge's decision to delay the proceeding rather than call the convicted murderer in court "a smack in the face."

"For him to have more rights than our family member — she's gone, she doesn't have a say in this. It's disrespectful, it's a smack in the face. We are tired. We had plans to celebrate justice being served, but yet again, we've been failed by this system. Yet again, we have to go home and hold each other up because the system smacked us in the face," Demi Callender said.

For those unversed, on September 14, 2025, the Minneapolis police responded to a shooting in the 1400 block of Russell Avenue.

Upon their arrival, they found the victim, later identified as Mariah Samuels, on the ground with multiple gunshot wounds. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Further investigations revealed that Wright shot Samuels just outside her front door in the Willard-Hay neighbourhood of Minneapolis. According to her family, Samuels dated him for a few months before she ended the relationship.

Wright was arrested the subsequent day and told authorities, "I'm not going to fight this situation. This is not going to be a hard-fought case," the aforementioned outlet reported.

He was convicted on Wednesday of first-degree premeditated murder, first-degree murder, second-degree murder and illegal possession of a firearm.

According to the Hennepin County Attorney, "A conviction on first-degree premeditated murder triggers a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole."

Meanwhile, Samuels' sister Simone Hunter also expressed disappointment with the judge's recent decision.

"This is why people think they can murder people in front of their dad's house and get away with it. There are no repercussions for these things, they don't care about these women who are dying on a daily basis. And the least that they could have done is demand that he come over here in shackles like the monster that he is. I'm astounded," said Samuels' sister Simone Hunter on Friday.

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty voiced similar sentiments, stating:

"We argued in court that we wanted the judge to force Mr. Wright to come to sentencing. He had a fair trial. This trial has been going on for, I think, a month. This family has had to sit through the trial every day. They are here expecting to give victim impact to have him sentenced."

The Hennepin County Attorney added:

"He has chosen not to show up to try to demonstrate one last shred of power and control, and it is devastating to this family, so we did ask for him to be forced to be brought up."

David Wright was set to be sentenced to life without parole.