Man sentenced to death for sexually assaulting, killing woman at Phoenix gas station in 2020

A 36-year-old man was sentenced to death for sexually assaulting and killing Lori Lynn Blankenship at a Phoenix gas station in 2020, officials announced Tuesday.

In September, a jury found Humphry Dixon Dogbe guilty of first-degree murder, kidnapping, sexual assault and sexual abuse.

In addition to the death sentence, Dogbe received a 48-year sentence in October for the kidnapping, sexual assault and sexual abuse charges. The sentences will be served concurrently.

“Today’s death sentence for Mr. Dogbe serves as a reminder that when a life is taken, the law can impose its most severe consequence,” Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said in a news release. “Lori Blankenship was more than the victim in this case; she was a life taken far too soon. While no verdict can restore what was lost, her memory deserves to be honored and her life should never be forgotten.”

On May 8, 2020, Phoenix Police officers responded to a gas station near 27th Avenue and Interstate 10 around 4:30 a.m. and found Blankenship lying on the ground naked with signs of trauma. Authorities noted she had been dead for a few hours by the time police arrived.

The gas station’s surveillance cameras showed Dogbe dragging Blankenship across the pavement before choking and sexually assaulting her then leaving, prosecutors said.

Dogbe was identified through a photo a lineup by a witness who tried to stop him.

He was captured three hours after the attack by a surveillance camera at a neighboring business while wearing the same clothes as the person seen on video sexually assaulting Blankenship.

Dogbe admitted to sexually assaulting and choking Blankenship after he solicited her for sex and she refused.

He lived in the area at the time and was a registered sex offender.

Related

Mesa’s newest chophouse, The William, is now openDemocrats bring a new agenda to the Arizona Legislature, starting with school vouchers and abortion defenseMilitary Times ranks University of Arizona as best public US college for veteransInterstate 10 eastbound reopens in Buckeye after crashMesa exapands Signal Butte Park with specialized BMX trackDual-branded Hilton hotel coming to Phoenix healthcare corridor near Mayo Clinic