JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Marquita Wilkes couldn't help but break down when she told the court what it was like to lose her Shavaris. After all, she's no stranger to violence.
She told the court, "My mom was murdered. My baby brother was murdered."
Shavaris, 17, is the third family member lost in just a six year span. "There's only three of us left. It's so hard for me," she cried.
Shavaris Wilkes was shot and killed by Ernest Bell. The murder happened off Palmdale Avenue in October of 2010. Bell was just 14 years old at the time. His defense team said he shot Shavaris, because Shavaris had been picking on him.
Bell's mother tried to take the blame for the shooting, saying she never got her son medical help, even after he was diagnosed with A.D.D., A.D.H.D., and other behavioral disorders.
She too broke down on the stand.
"I feel like there's two victims here. I made him a victim throughout his own life because of the things I didn't provide for him. And I'm sorry."
Bell's mom then dropped a bombshell when she told the prosecutor she was there the night Shavaris was killed. Assistant State Attorney Janeen Mira sounded shocked when she said, "And you didn't tell anybody about witnessing a murder?"
Ernest Bell himself stood up and made a brief apology for his actions.
"I want to apologize to the victims, Shavaris Wilkes, that I want the court to know it is not the way everybody is trying to make it seem."
It gave Shavaris' family little comfort.
"I didn't feel it at all," said Shavaris' father Bryant Tompkins. "I mean he's a kid. I'm not sure he realizes the consequences of where he is going now."
Where he's going is to prison for the next 35 years, as a 16-year-old convicted killer.
Marquita Wilkes said she's satisfied with the sentence. "He's getting some time, but it's still not gonna bring my brother back," she said.
Bell pleaded guilty to second degree murder. He could have been sentenced to life. He has 30 days to appeal.
The Wilkes family tragedy began in 2004, when Lynda Wilkes and her 10-month-old son, Jay-Quan Mosley, was murdered by her boyfriend, John Mosley. He is now on death row.
