Khaliyfa Neely, the man who , has ficially been convicted third-degree murder. The incident in question arose on February 18th 2015, when Neely attacked Pickett outside a bar in Philadelphia’s Germantown area. Pickett’s death was all the more tragic as he was gearing up to head on tour with , having secured the position stage manager. 

It took two trials before a jury was able to come to a conclusion, as  in a hung jury last year; the complications likely arose by way another suspect, Pierce Boykin, who was initially thought to be the killer. After further evidence shifted further away from Boykin, the jury was able to come to a concrete decision and Neely was convicted third-degree murder, aggravated and simple assault and possession an instrument crime. While not the killer, Boykin was still charged with aggravated assault with a sentence twenty-three months. The judge’s verdict is set to arrive on April 24th, with the possibility a life sentence for Neely. 

After his death, Minaj took to Instagram to pay respects to Pickett’s life. “These guys flew into Philly for my tour rehearsals 2 days ago and were both stabbed last night,” she wrote on Instagram, back when the incident occurred. “Unbelievable. Eric (on the right) is recovering. Another senseless act violence that took the life a great guy. So sad.” It might have taken a while for justice to be served on this one, but it’s good to see Pickett’s case begin to get closure.