DALLAS – The grandmother of a teenager involved in a murder during a Facebook Marketplace meetup is apologizing to the victim’s family.
The murder happened this past November in Dallas. The two teenage suspects accepted plea bargains and will now serve lengthy sentences.
Dallas Facebook Marketplace Murder 
The backstory:
In November 2024, Ahmad Alkhalaf drove to an Oak Cliff gas station to try to sell an iPhone he’d advertised on Facebook Marketplace. That ended up costing him his life.
Amaya Medrano, 19, and Annika Aleman, 18, were arrested and convicted in connection to Alkhalaf’s death.
Medrano, who prosecutors said was the shooter, took a plea deal for 55 years in prison. Aleman, who set it all up, took a plea deal for 37 years.
Grandmother Apologizes 
What they’re saying:
Aleman’s grandmother found FOX 4’s Shaun Rabb online and contacted him through email in an effort to do the right thing.
Sheila Dena lives on the East Coast and said she felt the need to apologize to Alkhalaf’s family.
“I am Annika Aleman’s grandmother. She is the one who planned the robbery,” Dena said. “I feel like the public needs to know that Annika is punished. She is going to serve 37 years for the crime that she committed. And I would like to say to the Alkhalaf family I am so incredibly sorry for what my granddaughter did and her part in this. I am so, so sorry, and I pray for your healing.”
Dena also reached out to prosecutors after her granddaughter was charged.
“It is very rare for a family member, especially in a serious charge like this to reach out,” said Dallas County Assistant District Attorney Alicia Patterson. “She was wonderful. She was so apologetic to the family of the victim.
Dena explained that she’s now been on both sides and knows first-hand the pain, sorrow, and grief a violent death leaves on a family.
“This kind of thing has touched my family. Back in 1970, my brother was working for Pell State Fina. He was 16 years old. He was robbed and murdered because somebody wanted what he had,” she said.
In a twist of life, her granddaughter was complicit in inflicting that same pain on Alkhalaf’s loved ones.
“They are such good people. They didn’t deserve this. But to know that their father was taken from them over an iPhone is really heartbreaking,” she said. “I believe, Mr. Rabb, that my granddaughter, when she goes to prison, I believe at some point when she gives her life to Christ she would be witnessing to other inmates.”
Dena is also a woman of faith who once dedicated her time to praying for incarcerated women through a prison ministry.
“I walked those halls. I prayed for women. I never knew that down the road, one of those women would be my granddaughter. But God already prepared. We walked and we prayed. And people need love. Yes, what she did was horrible. And I don’t want to take anything away from the family and their grief. But I also know that life does go on, and God does have a redemptive purpose,” she said.
Safety When Selling Online
Prosecutors encourage people to be safe when buying and selling items online.
Never go along to meet someone. Check out the social media profiles of the person you are dealing with and do your business in safe zones.
Police stations are a good option because you can go inside the lobby to safely complete the transaction.
The Source: FOX 4’s Shaun Rabb gathered information for this story by interviewing Annika Aleman’s grandmother, Sheila Dena, Dallas County Assistant District Attorney Alicia Patterson, and past news coverage.