NEW YORK, United States – A New York man will spend the remainder of his life behind bars for the brutal 2022 murders of his Jamaican girlfriend and two of her members of the family, authorities introduced Friday. Travis Blake, who resided on a hundred and fifty fifth Road within the Jamaica part of Queens, was handed a life sentence with out the opportunity of parole for the killings of Karlene Barnett, Dervon Brightly, and Vashawna Malcolm.
The sentencing by Queens Supreme Court docket Justice Ushir Pandit-Durant adopted Blake’s conviction on April 2. A jury discovered him responsible of first-degree homicide, three counts of second-degree homicide, and two counts of felony possession of a weapon within the fourth diploma after a three-and-a-half-week trial.
On Friday, Queens District Legal professional (DA) Melinda Katz detailed the horrific discovery of the victims’ our bodies, which had been discovered with quite a few puncture and blunt power wounds and in a state of decomposition inside their shared residence in Jamaica, Queens.
“Travis Blake viciously murdered his girlfriend, her son and a visiting cousin with knives, hammers and a screwdriver, after which fled New York to keep away from seize,” acknowledged DA Katz. “There aren’t any phrases to explain the trauma and lifelong sorrow this defendant has prompted for the household of Karlene Barnett, Dervon Brightly and Vashawna Malcolm. This defendant deserves every single day of his sentence, and we stand with the victims’ household as they proceed to mourn this overwhelming loss.”
Justice Pandit-Durant sentenced Blake to life imprisonment with out parole for the first-degree homicide cost. Moreover, he obtained 25 years to life for every of the second-degree homicide expenses, to be served consecutively for no less than 75 years, and 364 days in jail for every weapon cost, to be served concurrently with the first-degree homicide sentence.
The investigation revealed that on June 24, 2022, emergency companies responded to a 911 name from a resident on the a hundred and fifty fifth Road house concerning a deceased particular person. The caller, a son of the home-owner, encountered a robust odour and found the physique of his cousin, 22-year-old nursing scholar Vashawna Malcolm, in a complicated state of decomposition on a mattress in an upstairs bed room.
Additional investigation led police to the locked basement, the place the our bodies of Karlene Barnett and her son, Dervon Brightly, had been found. Trial information indicated that Barnett and Blake met at work and subsequently started a relationship, sharing the house with Barnett’s son, Brightly; Malcolm, who was visiting from Jamaica for the summer time; and Barnett’s niece. One other son of Barnett additionally resided within the house.
DA Katz acknowledged that Blake was apprehended in Maine weeks after the murders and subsequently extradited to Queens. Proof offered in the course of the trial included a blood-covered screwdriver with a lacking bit discovered close to Brightly’s physique. The lacking bit was later recovered from Brightly’s neck in the course of the post-mortem.
DNA proof linked Blake to a blood-stained shirt and bloody footprints discovered on the basement flooring close to Barnett’s physique. Moreover, a fingerprint matching Blake was found on a blood-stained mop on the steps resulting in the basement.
Including a chilling element to the case, DA Katz revealed that “Web exercise from a cellphone utilized by Blake mirrored that he was researching which states had the dying penalty in 2022.”
