A 22-year-old Newport man will be sentenced to 30 years in state prison for fatally stabbing Maximus Julian at a house party in 2021.

Tyrese Poulsen entered a no-contest plea to a charge of involuntary manslaughter in Newport County Superior Court on Nov. 13. Judge Stephen P. Nugent imposed the maximum sentence for manslaughter in Rhode Island.

Attorney General Peter F. Neronha announced the sentence Friday.

The incident occurred on May 29, 2021, at an Airbnb rental on Thames Street in Newport. Witnesses say a fight broke out after someone tried to pull Julian away from the party.

Poulsen reportedly grabbed a knife from the kitchen before stabbing Julian in the neck and torso. He then left the scene.

Newport police arrived in the early hours of May 30, 2021, to respond to reports of a stabbing. They found Julian suffering from stab wounds and found a bloody steak knife at the scene.

Julian, also 22, died from his injuries on June 1, 2021, at Rhode Island Hospital. Poulsen surrendered to Newport police two days later.

The Rhode Island Department of Health confirmed that Julian’s DNA was found in the blood on the knife.

Detective Joseph Lavallee of the Newport Police Department led the investigation. Deputy Attorney General Eric Batista and Special Assistant Attorney General Allison Stackpole prosecuted the case.

Full Statement by Attorney General Peter F. Neronha

Newport man faces 30 years in state prison for involuntary manslaughter

Published on Friday, November 15, 2024

A Newport man was sentenced in Newport County Superior Court to 30 years in the Adult Correctional Institutions (ACI) for the 2021 stabbing death of 22-year-old Maximus Julian at a house party, Attorney General Peter F. Neronha announced today. .

On November 13, 2024, the defendant appeared at a hearing before Superior Court Judge Stephen P. Nugent. Tyrese Poulsen (22) claimed that he was not a plaintiff for one count of involuntary manslaughter. At the hearing, the Court sentenced the defendant to 30 years in prison at ACI, the maximum penalty for involuntary manslaughter in Rhode Island.

“While justice was served to the extent possible here, the victim and his family received the harshest punishment,” he said. Chief Prosecutor Neronha. “This defendant chose to kill Maximus Julian over a minor fist fight and robbed this young man of his entire life for no apparent reason. I hope this outcome shows those with violent tendencies that this kind of blatant disregard for human life will get you decades in prison. “I am grateful to the Newport Police Department and the prosecutors in my office for their outstanding work in this case and many others.”

If the case proceeded to trial, the State was prepared to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant stabbed and killed Maximus Julian at a house party at the Thames Street Airbnb in Newport on May 29, 2021.

In the early hours of May 30, 2021, Newport Police responded to a report of a stabbing in the area of ​​Thames Street and Lee Avenue. Police teams arrived at the scene and found a male victim with stab wounds in his neck and torso. Investigators quickly determined that the victim had attended a party at an Airbnb rental property on Thames Street and found a steak knife with blood on it at the scene.

According to the testimony of multiple witnesses at the party, an attendee attempted to pull the victim away from the party, at which point a physical altercation broke out between the defendant and several people, including the victim. Witnesses told police that after the initial fight began, the defendant ran into the kitchen, grabbed a knife, then stabbed the victim in the neck and torso and then fled the scene.

The victim died from his injuries at Rhode Island Hospital on June 1, 2021, and on June 3, 2021, the defendant surrendered to Newport Police.

The Rhode Island Department of Health reported that blood found on the knife contained the victim’s DNA.

“This type of senseless violence will never be tolerated in our society,” he said. Newport Police Chief Ryan Duffy. “My heart goes out to the victim’s family and friends and I hope this sentence will help them find some peace. “Finally, I want to thank the men and women of the Newport Police Department and the Attorney General’s Office for helping bring this defendant to justice.”

Deputy Attorney General Eric Batista and Special Assistant Attorney General Allison Stackpole and Detective Joseph Lavallee of the Newport Police Department led the investigation and prosecution of the case.