Man sentenced to life over fatal stabbing of Black Army lieutenant

A white man who stabbed a Black Army lieutenant, to death at a bus stop at the University of Maryland’s College Park campus was sentenced Thursday (Jan. 14th) to life in prison for what prosecutors claimed was motivated by racism.

Sean Urbanski, 25, apologized to the parents of 23-year-old Richard Collins III for the “horrible pain” he caused them and said he wishes he could “go back and change what happened” on the night when he killed the newly commissioned Army lieutenant.

“There hasn’t been a day that’s gone by where I haven’t thought about what I’ve done to you, and if I could switch places with your son I would in a heartbeat,” Urbanski told Dawn and Richard Collins Jr. during a hearing conducted by video teleconference.

The crime took place in the early hours of May 20, 2017 when Urbanski, then a University of Maryland student, walked up to Collins and two friends at a campus bus stop.

“Step left. Step left if you know what’s best for you,” he ordered Collins, according to prosecutors.

When Collins refused, Urbanski lunged a three-inch pocket knife into his chest.

Collins, who had been at the school to visit friends, died three days before he was set to graduate with a business degree from Bowie State University. He had also been commissioned into the Army as a second lieutenant.

Prosecutors said it was no coincidence that Urbanski had chosen to attack Collins, the only black man standing at the bus stop.

Urbanski’s defense team, however, argued that the crime was fueled by alcohol. Stating if an expert testified at trial, Urbanski’s blood alcohol content was likely more than three times over the legal limit when he stabbed Collins.

A Prince George’s County jury convicted Sean Urbanski of first-degree murder in December 2019 after two hours of deliberation.

During trial, Prince George’s Circuit Judge Lawrence Hill Jr. threw out the hate crime charge, ruling that prosecutors had failed to prove Urbanski killed Collins specifically because of his race.

Collins’ family lobbied with former state’s attorney Angela Alsobrooks to change Maryland’s hate crime statutes after the charge was thrown out.

In March 2020, the Maryland legislature passed the 2nd Lieutenant Richard Collins III Law, which expanded the state’s definition of a hate crime to include acts of violence that are partially hate-motivated.

Urbanski’s mother Elizabeth Urbanski said her son wasn’t racist but admitted she had called him a “thoughtless and immature jerk” for looking at hateful memes.

“I know Sean has to serve time for what he’s done,” she said.

Prosecutors sought a life sentence without the possibility of parole for Urbanski. Judge Hill left open the possibility for parole while Urbanski serves his life sentence at Patuxent Institution in Jessup, MD. Urbanski will be eligible for parole in 15 years.

Collins’ father, Richard Collins Jr., called the murder an “act of pure evil” and said his son was “taken from us before the glow of his light could brighten a darkened world.”

His wife Dawn said she hadn’t slept a full night since her son was killed four years ago, DCist reported.

“I often visit the location where my son was murdered at the University of Maryland at College Park,” she said through tears.

“I often just sit on that bench and look to the heavens and ask, ‘God, why? Why?’”