Tyrese Poulsen, 22, of Newport, pleaded guilty to manslaughter on Wednesday in connection with the fatal stabbing of 22-year-old Maximus Julian of Little Compton. The plea came just moments before jury selection was set to begin for the trial. Poulsen had been initially charged with murder in the 2021 incident.
The incident occurred at a party on Thames Street in Newport, where a dispute between the two men escalated into violence, leaving Julian dead from the stabbing. Initially charged with murder, Poulsen fled Rhode Island shortly after the crime, but was apprehended a short time later following a manhunt by the Newport Police Department.
Poulsen was represented by defense attorneys Angela Lawless and Noah Kilroy, while the case was prosecuted by Assistant Attorney General Eric Batista. Under the terms of the plea agreement, Poulsen was sentenced to 30 years in prison at the Adult Correctional Institute in Cranston, with credit for time served since his arrest in June 2021.
Maximus Julian, a business student in his final semester at the University of Rhode Island, was set to graduate with high honors. Outside of his academic pursuits, Julian was passionate about BMX riding, fishing, and worked on a commercial fishing boat out of Sakonnet Point in Little Compton. He was described as a bright, loving young man who was full of generosity and life.
The plea brings an end to the criminal proceedings but offers little solace to a family still mourning the loss of a promising young man taken far too soon.
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