A Montgomery County, Maryland, man was ordered to serve 40 years in prison Friday for the 2018 murder of his wife.
Ruel Francis Dempster II, 34, of Silver Spring, pleaded guilty in November to first-degree murder for the death of 34-year-old Alice Dennis, the mother of their children.
On April 18, 2018, Dennis was found dead on the kitchen floor of their apartment in the 3600 block of Bel Pre Road in Aspen Hill. Police believe she was killed during a domestic dispute.
Dempster, who was 30 at the time of the killing, then fled to Mexico. He was arrested in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, close to the U.S. border, by Mexican authorities. He was then extradited back to Montgomery County and charged with Dennis’ murder.
“I thank Judge Cho for imposing 40 years of incarceration time in this case,” State’s Attorney John McCarthy said in a statement. “This defendant fled the country after committing murder in our community, but will now be held accountable for his actions and prevented from endangering the life of anyone else.”
According to Montgomery County authorities, Dennis told her boyfriend that Dempster suspected she was having an affair. When Dennis left the boyfriend’s residence on April 16, 2018, she said she would call him later, saying, “If I don’t, [Dempster] did something to me.”
Two days later, her body was found.
Dempster had a lengthy criminal record before the murder, including being on federal probation for a 2015 gun conviction.
In 2007, Dempster was arrested and indicted for manslaughter in the 2007 death of rookie Montgomery County police officer Luke Hoffman, although prosecutors eventually decided to drop the charge.
