HARRISBURG, PA — A Northampton County jury has convicted 27-year-old Zahmire Welcome of first-degree murder in the gruesome 2018 killing of 18-year-old Tyrell Holmes, whose body was discovered stabbed and set on fire outside an apartment complex.
Welcome, of Whitehall, was found guilty Wednesday evening of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and kidnapping after more than a week of testimony. Prosecutors said Welcome was part of the “Money Rules Everything” gang, whose members carried out the killing in cold blood.
He faces a mandatory life sentence when he is formally sentenced on January 14, 2026.
“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 Dave 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.”
Police discovered Holmes in April 2018 suffering from stab wounds to the neck and torso, his body engulfed in flames near a dumpster. Investigators later determined he was still alive when set on fire.
Authorities said phone records, surveillance footage, and witness testimony connected Welcome and three other gang members — Alkiohn Dunkins, 26, of Easton; Yzire Jenkins-Rowe, 28, of Collegeville; and Miles Harper, 26, of Allentown — to the murder.
All three co-defendants have been convicted. Dunkins was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life plus 23 to 50 years in prison. Jenkins-Rowe pleaded guilty to third-degree murder, conspiracy, and arson, receiving a 27½- to 60-year sentence. Harper pleaded guilty to aggravated arson and awaits sentencing.
The case was prosecuted by Senior Deputy Attorneys General Christopher Phillips and Katherine McDermott.
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