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Inari Molina, 27, was sentenced to life with all but 60 years suspended after pleading guilty in May to first-degree murder for her role in the death of Brian Gifford in 2019.
Giffords body was found on July 27, 2019, when the Anne Arundel Police Department received a report of a foul odor coming from a white pick-up truck in a large parking lot in the 800 block of Aquahart Road in Glen Burnie.
Upon arrival, investigators located Gifford’s body inside, along with a fixed blade knife that was inside the truck.
The investigation led detectives to video footage from an area restaurant where Gifford would sleep between job sites that showed he was still alive as of July 16, 2019.
Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney Anne Colt Leitess said that during an area canvass, detectives spoke to two citizens who described an encounter they had with a person they described as a tall, thin woman wearing a wig and a jogging suit with white striping on the side.
This person, later identified as Molina, approached them and asked them for money and cigarettes as they were waiting for transportation to their jobs in the same general area where the victim's truck was found, prosecutors said.
On July 17, 2019, video surveillance who resembled Molina wearing the same jacket with the white striped sleeves walking across the parking lot toward the victim’s white pick-up truck at 4:33 a.m. and opening the door.
“The victim, Mr. Gifford, was sitting in his truck when the defendant opened his truck door apparently to look for valuables inside,” Leitess said in a statement announcing the sentence. “When she encountered Mr. Giffords, instead of abandoning her plan to commit a theft, she chose to viciously attack him and stabbed him 36 times.
“This was an unprovoked attack as the individuals were neither acquaintances nor knew each other”
Investigators were able to track down Molina for an interview, during which they made note that she had a large cut on her fingers, which "had healed badly.”
Officials added that Molina has a history of similar incidents involving thefts from vehicles.
The state’s attorney said that a search warrant was issued and a DNA standard for Molina was collected.
Forensic evidence collected from the vehicle was compared to Molina's DNA. A blood stain found inside the victim's vehicle also matched the DNA standard for Molina and a report from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled Gifford's death a homicide from multiple stab wounds.
“Mr. Gifford’s life was senselessly taken from him leaving a huge hole in the lives of those who loved him dearly,” Leitess added. "We hope the sentence imposed today will provide some level of comfort to his family.”
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