‘Rushane deserves what he get’

Gwendolyn McKnight, the woman whose daughter and four grandchildren were brutally murdered in Cocoa Piece, Clarendon, in June, says that convicted killer Rushane Barnett should remain behind bars, adding that she is “a little” pleased with his sentence.

Barnett, 23, who showed no signs of remorse when he appeared in the Home Circuit Court for sentencing on Thursday, was slapped with five concurrent live sentences.

Justice Leighton Pusey ordered that Barnett serve 61 years and eight months before being eligible for parole.

The mutilated bodies of Kemisha Wright, her children – Kimanda Smith,15; Shara-Lee Smith, 12; Rafaella Smith, five; and 23-month-old Keshawn Henry – were discovered in their home in the community on June 21.

Barnett, who had been staying at the house with the family after he had fallen on hard times, was arrested and charged in the aftermath.

On July 28, he pleaded guilty to five counts of murder.

Following the sentencing on Thursday, the sorrowful family matriarch said that her nephew had reaped what he had worked for.

“Rushane deserves what he get. He has taken away all of my family; those were my family,” she said. “When you take up someone in your home, try to feed them, clothe them, get work for them, and this is what they ... pay me back in return, they stab me in my back,” she said.

According to her, Barnett did not value his freedom.

“He didn’t want to be out here and happy. He wanted to be behind bars, closed in, so he just have to bear what him get,” she said.

When asked if she was pleased with the sentence, she said although it was not what she wanted, it would suffice.

“I am satisfied a little ‘cause I know it cannot bring back my daughter and grandchildren,” McKnight said, “I did want my justice, and God has made it possible for me to get some justice, so I just have to thank God for everything.”

Added McKnight: “I was looking for 125 years, trust me, because each [victim] deserves 25 years, but that didn’t happen, so I just have to go with what the judge has done.”

She lamented how Barnett had taken away her beloved daughter and her only grandson.

“My daughter was begging all along to get a little boy ... . No one knows what the future holds with that little boy. He could be the next prime minister and he (Barnett) just slash them away from me,” she said.

In the meantime, McKnight said she has forgiven the killer.

She shared that the vicious attack has caused a rift in the family between her and her sister, Barnett’s mother, who, three weeks ago, reached out to her for the first time since the tragedy.

McKnight said that her sister apologised for what her son had done.

She plans to visit her sister to see how they can mend fences.

tanesha.mundle@gleanerjm.com