Maryland Court Jails Nicholas Giroux For Life Plus 20 Years Over Murder Of Boxer Isaiah Olugbemi

A 37-year-old man, Nicholas Giroux, has been sentenced to life imprisonment plus 20 years for the murder of Nigerian-American boxer Isaiah Olugbemi in Anne Arundel County, Maryland.

According to a press release from the Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney’s Office, Giroux was sentenced on Friday by Judge Richard Trunnell after pleading guilty to first-degree murder and use of a firearm in a crime of violence. The sentences will run consecutively in the Division of Corrections.

Olugbemi, 27, a rising amateur boxing star and father, was shot multiple times by Giroux on June 17, 2024, in the 500 block of Meadowmist Way, Odenton. He was later pronounced dead at R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore, with an autopsy ruling the death a homicide caused by gunfire.

Surveillance footage showed Giroux approaching Olugbemi, shooting repeatedly until he collapsed, and firing three additional rounds before fleeing. Police recovered 9mm cartridge casings at the scene.

Investigators revealed that Giroux had confronted Olugbemi and a neighbor about two weeks earlier during a cookout, brandishing a handgun but not pointing it. After the murder, he confessed during questioning and led authorities to the firearm used.

State’s Attorney Anne Colt Leitess described the crime as “cruel and senseless,” saying: “Mr. Olugbemi was a father and a rising star in amateur boxing. The callousness and lack of remorse on the part of this defendant is really disturbing. He deserves this sentence. And to the family and friends of Mr. Olugbemi, I hope that today provides some sense of justice for this terrible ordeal.”

The case was prosecuted by Assistant State’s Attorney Carolynn Grammas, with homicide detectives from the Anne Arundel County Police Department leading the investigation.