By Jim Emerson
PLEASANTON — Police arrested a woman who claimed that two masked robbers fatally
stabbed her boyfriend last year. The suspect identified as Kennedy L. Stith, 27, of Oakland,
was taken into custody this month for the murder.
Stith and the victim, 32-year-old Edevion White, lived together when the fatal stabbing occurred
on May 1, 2023. They shared an apartment at the Park Hacienda Apartment complex in the
5700 block of Owens Drive in Pleasanton. The stabbing occurred sometime after 10:30 a.m.
The victim suffered stab wounds in the his chest. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Stith phoned the police and reported the stabbing. She claimed that two men wearing ski
masks stabbed her boyfriend during a home invasion robbery. She told police that they ran
away after the stabbing.
The victim’s death remained an unsolved homicide during a 16-month investigation. The
California Highway Patrol’s special operations unit helped Pleasanton detectives solve the
case.
Investigators found discrepancies in Stith’s explanation of what happened to her boyfriend.
Moreover, she has prior arrests for domestic violence. Pleasanton police said in a prepared
statement, “Detectives determined (her story) was untrue.”
On September 12 at 8:05 a.m., Pleasant police arrested Stith at her Oakland residence. Stith
was booked into Alameda County Santa Rita Jail. Stith faces four felony charges including
murder.
She remains in custody ineligible for release on bond, pending her next scheduled court
hearing on September 24.
Stith is a previously convicted felon. She was convicted for second-degree robbery and
related charges in 2023, for this was sentenced to two years of probation beginning in
January 2024.
