Cold-blooded NYC killer who gunned down childhood friend in ‘evil act' learns her fate as victim's family tears into her: ‘No remorse'
Claudia Banton, 46, deserved to rot in prison for the 'evil act,' victim Delia Johnson's grieving relatives said in Brooklyn Supreme Court before the convicted murderer was slapped with a 23-year-to-life prison sentence.
'It's an act of pure evil and what makes it even more painful is that she showed no remorse for what she did,' Johnson's brother, Mathis Lemons, 51, told Justice Margaret Martin at the hearing, urging the judge to throw the book at Banton.
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4 Claudia Banton, 46, received a 23-years-to life sentence for murdering childhood friend Delia Johnson.
Gregory P. Mango
'My sister's killer should never see the world again,' Lemons said.
Banton showed no emotion as Johnson's family expressed shock that the woman they once took into their home had turned out to be their kin's killer.
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'I saw you as family at one point in my life,' Johnson's daughter, Ladeya Jenkins, 21, told Banton.
'To say this hurt, I cannot even say that. That's putting it lightly.'
Johnson's sister, Khadijah Berry, 31, echoed the heartrending sentiment.
'You and her were friends… but what broke my heart is knowing you did it and knowing how you did it to my sister,' she said.
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4 Delia Johnson's grief-stricken family expressed shock that the killer was a friend.
Gregory P. Mango
Banton was convicted last month of second-degree murder and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon for the gruesome execution-style killing, which took place outside another friend's funeral on Franklin Avenue in Crown Heights on Aug. 4, 2021.
Banton and Johnson were former friends, but no information about the killer's motive came out over the course of her trial.
Authorities said Banton blasted the 42-year-old mom at least five times in front of shocked mourners, sending them running for cover.
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'The first shot wasn't enough for this defendant,' Brooklyn Assistant District Attorney Michael Diamond told the court during the sentencing.
'She stepped over and pulled the trigger again and again as people ran for their lives.'
4 Delia Johnson's slaying was captured on surveillance footage.
Chilling police bodycam video shown during the trial captured a wounded Johnson bleeding out from her eyes as she lay face-up gasping for air.
Her slaying was also caught on surveillance footage.
Police stopped Banton in her white Mercedes moments after the shooting, but she was let go after witnesses claimed the shooter was a man.
Banton spoke to police like 'nothing happened' when she was pulled over, the prosecutor said.
4 Delia Johnson was shot multiple times by childhood pal Claudia Banton.
Brigitte Stelzer
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Three months later, US Marshals tracked Banton down in Jacksonville, Fla. after she changed her appearance — including by wearing a blonde wig — and deleted her social media.
It remains a mystery why Banton killed her former friend, whose family let her live with them multiple times.
'The first time I saw you with chains on, it broke me,' Johnson's mom, Delia Berry, recalled inside the courtroom as she shook with emotion and held photos of her beaming daughter.
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'It broke my heart,' she said.
'I took care of you.'
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