A judge sentenced Bakari Abiona Moncrief to life in prison for the capital murder of Sarmistha Sen.
PLANO, Texas — More than four years after the murder 43-year-old Sarmistha Sen, a judge sentenced Bakari Abiona Moncrief to life in prison.
Moncrief pleaded guilty to Sen’s murder on Dec. 2, 2024, and later that month was sentenced to serve life in prison, according to a release from the Plano Police Department. A judge also handed down a 40-year sentence for a burglary charge to which Moncrief also pleaded guilty. Plano PD said the earliest he could be considered for parole would be in 32 years.
The case was opened on Aug. 1, 2020, when officers with Plano PD found Sarmistha Sen dead in a creek near Chisholm Trail Park. That same day, Plano officers arrested then-29-year-old Bakari Moncrief for burglary. On Aug. 17, 2020, Plano detectives issued a warrant connecting Moncrief with Sen’s murder.
Police believe Moncrief attacked and killed Sen, who was out on a morning jog, then moved her body into the creek. According to the initial arrest affidavit, investigators used DNA to link Moncrief to Sen’s murder and a separate burglary. Sen’s blood was found on Moncrief’s clothes, police said.
Loved ones described Sen as a “fundamentally caring individual.” She was a clinical research manager at UT Southwestern and worked specifically in the oncology department. After Sen’s murder, her husband, Arindam Roy, worked with UT Southwestern to establish a $500,000 endowment in her name.
“You only die when people forget about you. Our goal is to make sure we remember her,” Roy said.
Sen is survived by her husband and two sons — Neil and Ryan.
