Jonathan Richardson was sentenced to death by the State of North Carolina for the murder of a four year old girl. According to court documents Jonathan Richardson would sexually assault, torture and murder four year old Teghan Skiba. Jonathan Richardson would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death
The jury has sentenced 4-year-old Teghan Skiba’s killer, Jonathan Richardson, to death, according to WTVD.
In July 2010, Teghan Skiba was admitted to the Johnston Medical Center by then-21-year-old Jonathan Richardson after he claimed she had fallen off the bed. However, doctors found she had cuts, bruises and bite marks on her body.
Skiba died days later. An autopsy revealed that the girl died from a blow to the head.
Richardson was found guilty of first-degree murder, felony child abuse, kidnapping, and sexual offense with a child on March 25.
In her closing arguments Thursday, Johnston County District Attorney Susan Doyle told jurors that Skiba suffered unimaginable pain in her final days. She lost over 70 percent of the blood in her body from all the wounds.
“The defendant bit Teghan all over her body over 60 times and she began to slip away,” said Doyle.
Richardson declined to address the court after the death sentence was read.
Antwan Anthony was sentenced to death by the State of North Carolina for a triple murder. According to court documents Antwan Anthony would shoot and kill 16-year-old Mokbel “Sam” Mohamed Almujanahi, 24-year-old Gaber Alawi, and 26-year-old Nabil Nasser Saeed Al’mogannahi during a robbery at a Farmville Hustle Mart. Antwan Anthony would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death
The jury in the Antwan Anthony case has sentenced the convicted murderer of three Farmville Hustle Mart employees in 2012 to death. The jury in the case announced its decision to a judge Tuesday afternoon.
The judge in the case gave the jury extensive instructions before handing the sentencing case to them to determine a verdict. The jury got the case late Friday and briefly deliberated before adjourning for the weekend.
It took the jury one hour to return a verdict in the murder trial, finding Anthony guilty on all counts during the April 1, 2012 robbery of the Farmville Hustle Mart. Anthony is guilty of three counts of first degree murder, three counts of first degree felony murder and three counts of robbery with a dangerous weapon.
According to Pitt County deputies, four armed robbers, including Anthony, entered the Hustle Mart in. Deputies said three employees — 16-year-old Mokbel “Sam” Mohamed Almujanahi, 24-year-old Gaber Alawi, and 26-year-old Nabil Nasser Saeed Al’mogannahi — were shot and killed.
Investigators arrested four suspects in the triple shooting: Raekwon Terrell Blount of Snow Hill, Xavier Shamble of Farmville, Willie Odell Whitehead, Jr.of Pinetops, and Anthony, who is from Bethel.
The last time someone was sentenced to death in Pitt County was when Mark Squires was sentenced in 2000. Sammy Perkins was the last person from Pitt County to die while on death row. Two others from Pitt County are currently on death row.
Seaga Gillard was sentenced to death by the State of North Carolina for a double murder. According to court documents Seaga Gillard would shoot and kill April Lynn Holland, 22, and Dwayne Garvey, 28 during a robbery attempt. Seaga Gillard would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death
A Wake County jury on Monday decided to impose the death sentence on Seaga Edward Gillard, convicted of killing two people nearly three years ago at a Raleigh motel.
The unanimous decision came about two hours after the jury resumed deliberations Monday morning.
Gillard did not show any emotion as the jury’s decision was read.
The death penalty sentence is the first by a Wake County jury in over a decade
The jury began its deliberations around 2:30 p.m. Friday afternoon in the punishment phase of the trial after nearly 90 minutes of instructions from Wake County Superior Court Judge Paul Ridgeway.
Gillard, 30, was convicted two weeks ago by the same jury of several charges, including two counts of first-degree murder, attempted robbery with a firearm and attempted first-degree rape.
The trial for another defendant in the case, Brandon Xavier Hill, is pending
Security cameras at the motel near Crabtree Valley Mall captured the deaths of Holland and Garvey. During the first phase of the trial, jurors saw the grisly black-and-white footage in which Gillard opened fire on Garvey inside a motel hallway.
Before jurors began deciding what punishment to impose, prosecutors tried to convince the panel that Gillard deserved capital punishment.
“It’s about justice (and) our law says this is about maximum justice,” said Wake County Assistant District Attorney David Saacks, who argued that Gillard’s decision to kill April Lynn Holland, 22, and her boyfriend, Dwayne Garvey, 28, deserved the death penalty.
But defense attorneys urged jurors to reject capital punishment.
“The only way he leaves prison is in a casket,” Edd Roberts said. “He will never know the freedoms we take for granted.”
Prosecutors told the jury that Holland, who was three months pregnant, was working as a prostitute at the motel, while Garvey, the father of her three children, was her partner in the operation.
Saacks told the jury Friday that despite the couple’s involvement in running a prostitution enterprise, their lives still mattered.
After the jury’s verdict had been announced, Jacqueline Garvey, the mother of Dwayne Garvey, took the stand to talk about the loss her family has suffered.
“You unjustly changed and hurt people’s lives forever, especially (for) his children who will grow up without their father in his life,” she said.
Angela Holland, sister of April Lynn Holland, tearfully told the court how her sister’s death profoundly affected her, saying she started heavily drinking alcohol to cope with her loss.
“I know you don’t care about what you did,” Angela Holland said. “And I hate you for that.”
A tangle of legal fights, such as the protocol used to carry out death sentences, whether physicians could participate and whether the way the death penalty has been enforced is racially biased, have essentially created a de facto moratorium on capital punishment in the state.
Gretchen Engel, executive director of the Center for Death Penalty Litigation, said in a written statement that prosecutors should not have sought capital punishment for Gillard.
“Since taking over as Wake district attorney, Lorrin Freeman has pursued the death penalty more than any other prosecutor in North Carolina, costing taxpayers millions of dollars,” Engel said in a written statement. “That is a poor investment, even in this case. Executions have been on hold since 2006 and most death row prisoners in North Carolina have been awaiting execution for more than 20 years. Gillard will now join them, awaiting an execution that is unlikely to ever be carried out.”
There are currently 140 people on death row at Central Prison.
The last person from Wake County to be sentenced to die is Byron Waring in 2007.
David Godwin was sentenced to death by the State of North Carolina for the murder of Wendy Tamagne. According to court documents David Godwin would murder Wendy Tamagne and dismember her body before placing her in garbage bags. David Godwin would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death
Jurors have sentenced David Godwin to death for beating, strangling, stabbing, killing and ultimately dismembering a Morehead City woman three years ago.
David Godwin, of Newport, was found guilty of first degree murder on April 12. He killed 37-year-old Wendy Tamagne, dismembered her body and stuffed it into trash bags in July 2016.
Authorities say Godwin fled on a Greyhound bus where he later showed up at Warrington Police Department in Oregon and said, “You guys are looking for me.” When they asked why, Godwin said, “I’m wanted for murder.”
Tamagne was recently divorced at the time of her death and living at Country Club Apartments, which is where her dismembered body was found on July 5, 2016. Police said Tamagne and Godwin knew each other and this was not a random act, but Godwin’s defense team states something different.
Prosecutors detailed a grisly scene throughout the murder trial while Godwin sat with his head down, staring at the table in front of him.
Tamagne’s mother, Jill Bergener, was the one who told authorities something was wrong the day after Tamagne’s murder. The mother and daughter spoke often and when Bergener was getting no response, each unanswered text sparked a growing concern. Bergener was among those in the courtroom as Godwin was sentenced.
“How am I ever going to forgive someone for murdering my daughter, said Bergener. “David you’re not sick, you’re a coward. You know it, I know it and God knows it.”
Bergener said she also told David Godwin’s mother she feels sorry for her and that they both lost children.
Godwin will be taken to the state penitentiary in Raleigh.
District Attorney Scott Thomas thanked the jury for their service.
“We are very appreciative of the jury for their work in this case,” Thomas said. “They have devoted nearly one month of their lives to this case from jury selection to the final sentence. They have had to listen to and observe gruesome evidence during this trial. They have used their good judgment and common sense to reach guilty verdicts and a sentence.
“My staff members who prosecuted this case spent months preparing this capital case for trial and nearly one month in court from jury selection through sentencing. They were well prepared and demonstrated their professional abilities on a very tough assignment. The Morehead City Police Department, State Bureau of Investigation, and the State Crime Lab worked diligently to solve this case and provide the evidence needed for a conviction.”
Thomas also extended condolences again to the Tamagne family.
“We committed to the family of Wendy that we would seek justice in her murder,” Thomas said. “In this case, we decided to seek the death penalty due to the aggravating factors present. Every murder is cruel by its very nature, but the death in this case was especially heinous, atrocious, and cruel. Our prayers continue to be with Wendy’s family and friends as they move forward after this first-degree murder conviction and sentence.”
Brady Mikel was sentenced to death by the State of North Carolina for four murders during an attempted prison escape. According to court documents Brady Mikel would murder four North Carolina prison worker during an escape from Pasquotank Correctional Institution in Elizabeth City. Brady Mikel has been moved to a Federal Prison, U.S. Penitentiary Big Sandy in Inez, Kentucky, for safety concerns and will be transferred back when his execution is scheduled.
Mikel Brady was sentenced to death Monday just a little over two years after a planned escape from a North Carolina prison ended in four people’s brutal deaths.
Brady, 30, will become the 143rd person waiting to die on death row in North Carolina. The state has not carried out an execution since 2006.
Surrounded by six police officers, Brady remained quiet and stoic as he learned of his death sentence. Occasionally, he looked over at the jurors.
They deliberated for an hour and five minutes.
Their decision Monday came about a week after they deliberated for just 35 minutes to find him guilty of first-degree murder and other charges related to an escape he planned from Pasquotank Correctional Institution north of Elizabeth City on Oct. 12, 2017.
Brady testified last week to planning the escape, describing how he cobbled together backpacks and supplies from his job in the prison’s sewing plant. Three other inmates — Jonathan Monk, Seth J. Frazier and Wisezah Buckman — have been charged and are awaiting trial.
Brady was in custody at Pasquotank for shooting a North Carolina highway patrolman in 2013. The trooper, Michael Potts, survived.
It is the deadliest prison escape attempt in the state’s history. District Attorney Andrew Womble had been seeking the death penalty.
In closing arguments Monday, Womble described Brady — a native of Vermont — as taking advantage of a position of trust and confidence at Pasquotank. He described Brady’s victims as obstacles to his ultimate goal of freedom.
“They were things to get past,” Womble said, a blue screen illuminating the words “State V Mikel Brady” behind him.
Jurors were showed photos of each victim — a “before Brady” photo of them alive and then an “after Brady” photo of them lying on the prison floor, blood surrounding their bodies.
If the jury chose life in prison, Womble contended, “it will be open season on corrections officers in this state.”
“I understand he’s got one life,” Womble said, “but he took four.”
Brady’s lawyers, Thomas Manning and Jack Warmack, reminded the jury of Brady’s tumultuous childhood. How he was born to a teenage mother and an abusive father. How he suffered from developmental issues from a young age, and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. How even after he was given medications, his father did not want Brady to take them.
“As the twig is bent, so goes the tree,” Manning said, quoting a poem to the jurors.
Manning focused on the responsibility of the Department of Corrections. He told jurors they should factor in how the prison, tasked with controlling prisoners and keeping its workers safe, could allow an inmate like Brady to concoct a plan for months to get out.
“It was absolutely easy for him to implement the plan and prepare the plan,” Manning said. “No one was looking.”
He added later: “The blame does not stop with Mikel Brady and his co-defendants.”
Clinton Skinner, the older brother of Veronica Darden, a Pasquotank sewing plant manager who died the day Brady tried escaping, said immediately after hearing the sentence he was “ecstatic.”
“I’m glad it was quick,” Skinner said of the jury’s ruling. “The evidence was too apparent.”
He said it wasn’t difficult to watch the proceedings, including vivid descriptions of how his sister died. His anger, he said, has already subsided and he had to forgive Brady.
Skinner wants justice but said he still doesn’t feel it. With the death sentence, Brady would be put to death by lethal injection versus the pain Skinner’s sister went through the day she died.
“That’s the extent of his pain,” Skinner said.
There are 142 people on death row in North Carolina, according to the state’s Department of Public Safety. Only four other states — Pennsylvania, Alabama, Texas and Florida — have more people on death row, according to the North Carolina Coalition for Alternatives to the Death Penalty.
Executions in North Carolina have been stalled by lawsuits over racial bias and lethal injection drugs, Gretchen Engel, executive director of the Center for Death Penalty Litigation, has told The Pilot.
Six capital cases await a hearing before the state’s Supreme Court to decide if race played a role in jury selection. A study showed the state’s prosecutors struck black jurors at roughly double the rate of others, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
Womble told reporters he was pleased with Monday’s outcome, and relieved they were able to get some justice for the families involved.
Brady will be transferred to Central Prison, which is located in Raleigh, Womble said.
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
