Raleigh man convicted of killing wife, 2-year-old daughter

Jurors deliberated for about five hours over two days before finding Elhadji Diop guilty of first-degree murder in the death of his wife, Aminata "Amy" Drame, and second-degree murder in the death of their daughter, Fatim Diop.

Diop, 55, had nothing to say before Superior Court Judge Henry Hight sentenced him to 20 to 25 years in prison for his daughter's death, followed by a term of life in prison without parole for his wife's death.

Drame, 40, and the toddler were found dead inside their home in the 5900 block of Farm Gate Road on April 5, 2016, after relatives in Africa saw photos of their bodies posted on social media and asked Raleigh police to check on the family.

Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman said the couple was arguing over money when Diop put his wife in a chokehold. As the two struggled, their daughter got in the middle of them and was knocked to the ground, with Drame falling on top of her.

Drame's sister, Maimouna "May" Diop, said the conviction and sentence provide a bit of closure, but she said a piece of her life will always be missing.

"Amy is still gone. We will never see her again," she said. "We are only three – my mom, her and I. So, it is just me and my mom and the kids. We miss her. She is gone."

May Diop, who is raising Drame's two surviving daughters, now 15 and 12, described her sister as full of life.

"She wanted to make it for her kids. She worked hard to get to where she was," she said.

Drame's family is originally from Senegal, and her sister said it's not culturally acceptable in many families to speak out about domestic violence. Shed said would like to help change that.

"We are going to try to remember Amy, pray for her. We still miss her," she said.

Hight also ordered him to pay the state $25,500 for the services provided by the Wake County Public Defender's Office in his defense.