{"id":263986,"date":"2026-08-12T15:12:06","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T15:12:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/263986\/"},"modified":"2026-08-12T15:12:06","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T15:12:06","slug":"juvenile-shooter-in-khalief-webster-murder-gets-18-36-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/263986\/","title":{"rendered":"Juvenile shooter in Khalief Webster murder gets 18-36 years"},"content":{"rendered":"

An Upper Darby juvenile who shot and killed 16-year-old Khalief Webster last year<\/a> was sentenced Tuesday to 18-36 years in a state prison.<\/p>\n

Michael Nixon, 17, previously entered open guilty pleas to third-degree murder and carrying a firearm without a license<\/a> in the shooting at Long Lane and Pine Street on May 18, 2025.<\/p>\n

Common Pleas Court Judge Deborah Krull ran the sentences for both charges consecutively: 17 to 34 years for the murder and 1 to 2 years on the gun charge.<\/p>\n

Nixon entered his plea in May. It came the same day Krull was to hear arguments on decertifying the case and sending it to juvenile court. A first-degree murder charge was dismissed under the plea worked out by Deputy District Attorney Sophia Polites and defense counsel Pete Manaras.<\/p>\n

As a juvenile, Nixon would have faced a minimum 35 years to life for first-degree murder. He instead faced a maximum 23\u00bd-47 years.<\/p>\n

He previously waived a preliminary hearing.<\/a><\/p>\n

Background of the case<\/p>\n

Police initially reported Webster was shot to death during an argument between two juveniles on the afternoon of May 18. Investigators released an image of the suspected shooter captured by a camera and asked for the public\u2019s assistance in identifying him.<\/p>\n

Nixon turned himself in to police on May 20 and was charged as an adult.<\/p>\n

According to an affidavit of probable cause for Nixon\u2019s arrest written by Detective William Gottsch:<\/p>\n

Investigators recovered surveillance video on Long Lane that showed the victim riding a miniature dirt bike from the 7200 block of Pine Street onto the 300 block of Long Lane at 2:55 p.m.<\/p>\n

At 2:56 p.m., the surveillance captured audio of an unknown person asking, \u201cYou that young bull I seen the other day? You better not be.\u201d<\/p>\n

The unknown person then said something muffled, followed immediately by a gunshot.<\/p>\n

A white male wearing a light-colored hooded sweatshirt with a logo on the left side of the chest, black pants, black sneakers and a cross-body bag was then seen fleeing from the 300 block of Long Lane.<\/p>\n

Video captured him tucking an unknown object, presumably a firearm, into his waistband, using his right hand.<\/p>\n

The suspect then raised a red mobile phone to his face with his left hand and stated, \u201cI just shot somebody in their chest, bro!\u201d<\/p>\n

Detectives obtained additional surveillance showing the suspect running through the neighborhood onto the 7200 block of Radbourne Avenue, then to Chapman Playground and on to the trail behind the 300 block of Essex Avenue and on to Houston Avenue.<\/p>\n

Police canvassed the path and made contact with a witness who had been seen on one of the videos washing his vehicle in the alley near Lamport Road. That witness stated he recognized the suspect as someone who formerly lived on the unit block of Oxford Street.<\/p>\n

On May 19, police obtained information on that former resident, finding they had an address on the first block of North State Road. The following day, police served two search warrants, including one on the State Road residence, where they recovered two fired cartridge casings, two handgun frames and a black cross-body bag.<\/p>\n

A witness at the home agreed to go to the police station to give a statement. That witness told police they received a call from Nixon between 3:30 and 4 p.m. on May 18 stating he had just shot somebody.<\/p>\n

After the call, the witness picked up Nixon at the Dollar General on Union Avenue in Lansdowne. He told the witness at that time that he had a dispute with Webster a day or two earlier.<\/p>\n

The witness told police Nixon saw Webster walking on Long Lane and got into an argument with him, then shot him. Nixon additionally told the witness that Webster was riding a mini-dirt bike, which was consistent with the surveillance video.<\/p>\n

Webster was rushed to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center following the shooting, but lifesaving efforts were unsuccessful.<\/p>\n

Nixon and Webster were both students at Upper Darby High School.<\/p>\n

Grieving family<\/p>\n

Krull heard from an aunt and uncle, both of Webster\u2019s grandparents and his mother at sentencing Tuesday, though several disturbances inside the packed courtroom as others voiced their opinions of Nixon and the case forced several pauses in the testimony.<\/p>\n

His aunt, Tameka Shaw, said her nephew was a talented football player with a bright future ahead of him and so many things to look forward to that he will never see.<\/p>\n

He was supposed to graduate this year, should have gone to prom and homecoming, played football and been planning his future, she said.<\/p>\n

The pain of his absence has been indescribable, Tameka Shaw continued, and has been devastating to her personally because they were so close.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are moments when I still cannot believe that he is really gone,\u201d she said. \u201cI miss his presence, his personality and simply knowing that he was here. There will always be a piece of our family missing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Webster\u2019s mother, Talaya Shaw, said she was planning to cook his favorite dinner that night. Instead, she had to drive to Penn Presbyterian and was not even allowed in to say goodbye to her son, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe took my son,\u201d she told the judge. \u201cHe took my son away forever.\u201d<\/p>\n

More than that, she said Nixon took away every possibility for Khalief\u2019s life, all of his hopes and dreams, and showed not an ounce of remorse about it. The impact on his family, friends and siblings will never go away, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou didn\u2019t just take Khalief away that day, you didn\u2019t just rip a part of his parents\u2019 soul out of their body, you caused generational trauma,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Talaya Shaw described Khalief as having a big heart and a big smile that could light up the darkest room. He loved to dance, rap, play basketball and football, and was creating his own fashion line.<\/p>\n

When one of his classmates was getting bullied, she said he stood up for her.<\/p>\n

He worked and paid taxes, she said, and had even tried to get a second job shortly before his death. He was going to push through any adversity he might have had in life toward greatness, Talaya Shaw said.<\/p>\n

Instead, he was gunned down in cold-blooded murder on a Sunday afternoon in broad daylight, she said.<\/p>\n

Many of those speaking Tuesday noted Nixon had to walk 24 minutes from his home to the crime scene with a loaded gun, then ran to New Jersey after the shooting and tried to change his appearance before returning to Philadelphia.<\/p>\n

They said this should have been a fistfight if they were having some dispute, not a killing.<\/p>\n

\u201cMichael, why?\u201d asked his grandmother, Tammy Shaw. \u201cWhy? Why did you have to take him away from us?\u201d<\/p>\n

Tammy Shaw said she had raised her children and grandchildren to treat everyone with respect, no matter the color of their skin, but believed the prosecution would have proceeded differently if Nixon and Khalief\u2019s roles were reversed.<\/p>\n

She and others also voiced the opinion that Nixon had been coddled by a justice system that they see as rigged against people of color.<\/p>\n

Charlotte Webster, Khalief\u2019s other grandmother, said she has suffered from anxiety and depression since his death. She said there are times when she is ok, but then an image of her grandson in a coffin pops into her head and she breaks down.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere hasn\u2019t been a day since May 18, 2025, without me breaking down,\u201d she said. \u201cI cry every day, because Michael Nixon, you killed my grandson for no apparent reason.\u201d<\/p>\n

She reiterated that if Nixon felt Khalief did something, he could have fought him rather than bring a gun into it and called him \u201ca f***ing coward.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe didn\u2019t have a gun,\u201d she said. \u201cWhat he had was a cellphone and a bike. \u2026 Nobody did anything to you. You were a bully with a gun, that\u2019s what you were.\u201d<\/p>\n

Demeer Shaw, Khalief\u2019s uncle, said that what was on display in the courtroom was raw emotion, trauma, pain, anguish and despair.<\/p>\n

He said his nephew\u2019s death forced him to tell his own children, 6 and 3, what happened because he does not lie to his kids. Now they are aware of evil and hatred in the world, he said.<\/p>\n

Demeer Shaw said kids all over Delco had honored Khalief on their shoes at prom and on gowns and shirts at graduation. He said that as a man of Christ, he knows he must forgive Nixon, but there also have to be consequences for his actions and asked the judge to make an example of him.<\/p>\n

\u201cKhalief Webster mattered,\u201d said Tameka Shaw. \u201cHis life mattered. His future mattered. He was loved and he will continue to be loved and remembered every single day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Prosecution argument<\/p>\n

Senior Deputy Attorney General Christopher Phillips, who handled sentencing, asked for the maximum 23\u00bd to 47 years. He said Khalief\u2019s family and the community at large will never get over his death.<\/p>\n

Phillips noted that he had included nearly 20 photos in his sentencing memorandum taken from social media that showed Nixon displaying guns brazenly because he wanted to be a gangster.<\/p>\n

Phillips argued this was further emphasized by surveillance video that showed Khalief rounding a corner on his bike and being shot 30 seconds later, then Nixon walking by the camera saying on his phone, \u201cI just shot somebody in the chest, bro.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nixon had even pulled a weapon on his own sister, he added.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is who Michael Nixon is, who he is telling us that he is,\u201d Phillips said. \u201cAnd what did he do? His instinct was not to accept responsibility for his actions, but to escape, to get help, to get out of there. Not because he\u2019s afraid of anybody in that neighborhood, because he wasn\u2019t. He went there by design with a gun to take power of life and death over Khalief Webster.\u201d<\/p>\n

Defense argument<\/p>\n

Defense counsel Peter Manaras argued that the shooting was not racially motivated and said Nixon did not go to the neighborhood looking for Khalief.<\/p>\n

Manaras said he was walking to a friend\u2019s house when Khalief passed Nixon on his bike, stopped and asked him, \u201cYou that young bull?\u201d<\/p>\n

Manaras said Nixon and Khalief had two prior incidents, but his client was not looking for trouble and had a gun on him for protection.<\/p>\n

Nixon\u2019s mother and sister also apologized to Khalief\u2019s friends and family. His mother, Jennifer Concerta, said not a day goes by that she does not pray for them.<\/p>\n

She said her son makes poor choices and she had tried to guide him. She asked the court to consider the person behind the charges, and to fashion a sentence that would allow him to grow and mature in prison, and one day rejoin society in a positive fashion.<\/p>\n

The defendant\u2019s story<\/p>\n

Nixon also apologized Tuesday and said it was not his intent to kill Khalief that day. He said he is haunted by it and that if he could change it, he would.<\/p>\n

Nixon then gave his own version of events:<\/p>\n

\u201cDays before the situation, he was messing with me, so I felt like I needed to bring a gun with me,\u201d Nixon said. \u201cHe saw me when he rode past me on a bike and got off, and came up to me while reaching in his pants. I felt that he had a gun. He asked me if I was that young bull from the other day. I tried to walk away, but he started to walk up behind me. I got scared, everything went blank and I shot him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nixon said he had suffered abuse growing up and perceives everything as a threat. He said people coming near him triggers his anxiety.<\/p>\n

\u201cI did not want to kill him,\u201d he said. \u201cI never wanted to hurt him. I was just scared and my body reacted before my mind could process what was going on.\u201d<\/p>\n

The judge offered her own condolences to Khalief\u2019s family and urged Nixon to use his time in prison to better himself so that he can return to society in some way that honors his victim.<\/p>\n

In addition to prison time, Nixon must provide a DNA sample to state police, forfeit the firearm and pay $6,574 in restitution for funeral services.<\/p>\n

He is not eligible for early release, but was given credit for time already served.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An Upper Darby juvenile who shot and killed 16-year-old Khalief Webster last year was sentenced Tuesday to 18-36…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":258443,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[46,212,182,139,28,210,147,149,148,150],"class_list":["post-263986","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-upper-darby","tag-courts","tag-delaware-county","tag-local-news","tag-news","tag-pennsylvania","tag-top-stories-dtd","tag-upper-darby","tag-upper-darby-headlines","tag-upper-darby-news","tag-upper-darby-township"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263986","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=263986"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263986\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/258443"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=263986"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=263986"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=263986"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}