She Was Stalked, Kidnapped, Then Stabbed To Death Close To Her Home And Now Her Family Is Suing The City For Not Protecting Her
Memphis, Tennessee. Sabrina Nguyen was just 18-years-old when her life was ended at the hands of her ex-boyfriend.
Sabrina had a big heart and never hesitated to help anyone in need, even if they were just a stranger to her.
Her bright smile and genuine nature are what drew people to her, and she was the type of person who would give someone the very shirt off her back.
In the early months of 2009, Sabrina met a young man named Keedrin Coppage and the two began dating.
“…It was not long before major concerns arose,” court documents filed by Sabrina’s family explain.
Not long into their relationship, Keedrin took a bag full of tools and hit Sabrina’s head with it. Just 2 months after that, Keedrin assaulted Sabrina and broke her phone.
Sabrina was so badly injured she required medical treatment, and this time, Keedrin was arrested for what he did to her.
The following day, Keedrin attacked and kidnapped Sabina, leaving her unconscious in the process.
Obituary photo; pictured above is Sabrina
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Again, Keedrin was arrested. 2 days after that attack, Sabrina was able to get an order of protection against Keedrin.
By this point in time, Sabrina had already broken up with him and Keedrin was now her ex. Keedrin knew that Sabrina was granted an order of protection, and yet, he violated that order.
On August 10th, 2019, Keedrin was able to kidnap Sabrina for a second time, and now he was escalating.
He sexually assaulted her and brought her from Memphis to Collierville before Sabrina was able to get away and escape.
This time, Sabrina was back in the hospital to get treated again for the injuries she received at the hands of Keedrin.
Obituary photo; pictured above Sabrina smiles
A month after that horrific attack, Keedrin was calling and texting Sabrina with death threats. On the day that Sabrina was set to go to court to prosecute Keedrin, he laid in wait in her bushes, waiting for her to come out of her house.
When Sabrina exited her house, he brutally attacked her and tried to kidnap her for a third time, but was not successful.
Keedrin terrorized Sabrina for months, and that was hardly the end of what he did to her.
Throughout the rest of 2019, Keedrin kept sending her harassing and scary texts and calls. He dropped by where Sabrina worked. He stalked her as she left her house.
He assaulted her. He pulled a knife on her. He followed through with kidnapping her for a third time.
The fourth time Keedrin kidnapped Sabrina was on December 20th, a few days before Christmas. He shoved her into the trunk of her, then drove her across several states and refused to let her go.
Sabrina ended up being held against her will for three long days, and Keedrin abused her physically and mentally the entire time.
Obituary photo; pictured above is another photo of Sabrina
Sabrina broke free after three days, and Keedrin actually drove her to the Memphis Police Department, where he dropped her off. He then stole Sabrina’s car.
Her family says that even though Keedrin now had multiple arrest warrants he racked up for domestic violence and varying other crimes he committed against Sabrina, he was never arrested.
On December 31st, Sabrina was out walking in her own neighborhood, and that was the last time anyone would ever see her alive again.
Her brother ended up reporting her as missing when she failed to return home.
Two days after she was last seen, someone passing through an intersection noticed Sabrina lying lifelessly on a nearby sidewalk. They called 911, but unfortunately, it was too late. Sabrina was already gone.
An autopsy revealed that she had been murdered. Her cause of death was “multiple sharp force injuries.”
She had been stabbed 38 times in her back, abdomen, torso, thigh, arms, wrists, legs, and shoulders.
Sabrina put up a fight against her attacker, and she had defensive wounds to show for it.
Keedrin was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, and now Sabrina’s family is suing the city of Memphis, and the police officers they allege failed to help her.
Her family feels her death was entirely preventable should she have gotten the help she so desperately needed.
“Sabrina’s ex-boyfriend kidnapped and assaulted her on multiple occasions, made terroristic threats towards her, stole her vehicle, violated bail conditions, and stalked her,” her family wrote in a petition.
“He was arrested twice and had 8 formal charges brought against him in the month of December alone.”
“Officers knew where he lived and had arrested him at that location previously. Officers knew that Sabrina desperately needed her vehicle in order to work and to get away from dangerous situations.”
“Despite all of this information, officers chose not to act between December 23rd and January 1st and that choice led to their finding of Sabrina’s dead body on January 2nd.”
“Officers were given countless signs that should have led them to make different choices, choices that would have saved Sabrina, yet due to her gender, race and position in society, they made decisions that led to her death instead.”
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1(800) 799-7233.
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