VERDICT: Gang Member Guilty of 1st-Degree Murder for Stabbing, Setting Man on Fire in Northampton County

October 9, 2025 | Topic: Criminal

HARRISBURG — Attorney General Dave Sunday announced that a Northampton County jury convicted 27-year-old Zahmire Welcome of first-degree murder for the killing of 18-year-old Tyrell Holmes in 2018.

The jury found Welcome guilty Wednesday evening of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and kidnapping, following more than a week of testimony regarding the death of Holmes, who was found near a dumpster outside an apartment complex.

Welcome, of Whitehall, is one of four “Money Rules Everything” gang members charged in the killing. He faces a mandatory life-in-prison term when he is sentenced on January 14, 2026.

The three other co-defendants were previously convicted.

“This was a brutal killing perpetrated by the defendant and his co-conspirators who are, one by one, being held accountable for their senseless, callous, and cowardly acts,” Attorney General Sunday said. “This is not a day of celebration as Mr. Holmes was forever taken away from his loved ones, but we are hopeful the jury’s appropriate verdict offers a sense of justice.”

In April 2018, police found Holmes on fire with stab wounds to the neck and torso. Investigators determined Holmes was stabbed and set on fire while still alive. The investigation revealed that the victim and two of the co-defendants had lived together for a period of time.

Phone records, surveillance video, and other evidence led to the arrests of Welcome; Alkiohn Dunkins, 26, of Easton; Yzire Jenkins-Rowe, 28, of Collegeville; and Miles Harper, 26, of Allentown.

Dunkins was previously found guilty by a Northampton County jury of first-degree murder and related crimes. He has been sentenced to a lifetime in prison — plus 23 to 50 years. Jenkins-Rowe previously pleaded guilty to third-degree murder, criminal conspiracy to commit murder, and arson. He has been sentenced to 27½ to 60 years in prison. Harper has already pleaded guilty to aggravated arson and is awaiting sentencing.

This case was prosecuted by Senior Deputy Attorney General Christopher Phillips and Senior Deputy Attorney General Katherine McDermott.

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