PA - Robert Barnes, 51, homeless, dies 7 mos after brutal beating, Olney, 7 Apr 2015

[JoeFromLB]

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/2...la__gas_station_dies.html#z0fH3oGA0sosZLCv.99

I'll be following this one closely. What kind of human beings could do such a cruel thing?!

 

[Yvettea]

That is heartbreaking.

 

[night train]

The quote "Be kind for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle"
comes to mind,often times it's a blessing even to find ambivalence.This however,is the action of evil vermin detached and desensitized to the value of human life.

R.I.P Robert Barnes

 

[KaaBoom]

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/2...la__gas_station_dies.html#z0fH3oGA0sosZLCv.99

I'll be following this one closely. What kind of human beings could do such a cruel thing?!

In September, all three women rejected a deal from the District Attorney's Office for a guilty plea in exchange for prison terms of seven to 14 years. They have been unable to post bail and still are in custody.

It’s a good thing they rejected the plea bargain. Now they are going to go to prison for a lot longer for murder.

 

[LietKynes]

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-33...phia-man-dies-months-head-smashed-hammer.html
Later that day, the 10-year-old child falsely told Gillard that Barnes had hit him which supposedly led to the attack.

Horrific and so vicious. :stormingmad:
That photo of him in the hospital is hard to look at.
My utmost condolences to his sister, Diane !

Rest gently, Robert. Your sufferings in this world are over.

 

[OkieGranny]

Upgraded charges filed in December:

http://6abc.com/news/murder-charges-filed-in-beating-death-of-homeless-man-in-olney/1101081/

The boy's mother, 34-year-old Aleathea Gillard and Shareena Joachim, along with Kaisha Duggins, both 24-years-of-age have been charged with murder...

Three juveniles who participated in the attack are also expected to be charged as adults with murder.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Trial delayed for trio accused in fatal beating of homeless man

http://www.phillyvoice.com/trial-delayed-trio-accused-fatal-beating-homeless-man/

The trial for three women charged with murder in connection with the beating death of a homeless man outside an Olney gas station has again been delayed.

Though the trio was slated to face trial starting on March 20, legal maneuvering has pushed the start back until July 31.

Diane Barnes – whose brother Bobby died seven comatose months after the assault garnered national attention after being captured on video – told PhillyVoice this week that the delay stems from two of the defendants hiring experts to claim they weren’t of sound mind on the day of the ultimately fatal attack.

“One of them was pregnant at the time and they’re hiring an expert to testify about her mental state. It can’t be postpartum, because that’s after giving birth, but I was told it was something along those lines,” Barnes said. “One of the others – the one who (allegedly) maced my brother – is hiring a mitigation expert to help her, too.”

Considering all three will be tried simultaneously, the moves on behalf of Gillard and Joachim required a trial delay, she said.

Three youths – a 12-year-old girl, and 13- and 14-year-old boys – were sentenced on assault charges several months later. Their charges were upgraded when Barnes died. At least one of the juveniles (the 14-year-old boy) has already pleaded guilty.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

The trial was delayed until January 29th.

Kaisha Duggins:

https://ujsportal.pacourts.us/DocketSheets/CPReport.ashx?docketNumber=CP-51-CR-0002548-2016

Aleathea Gillard:

https://ujsportal.pacourts.us/DocketSheets/CPReport.ashx?docketNumber=CP-51-CR-0002546-2016

Shareena Joachim:

https://ujsportal.pacourts.us/DocketSheets/CPReport.ashx?docketNumber=CP-51-CR-0002547-2016

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

http://www.phillyvoice.com/could-long-wait-justice-fatal-beating-homeless-man-be-ending/

Arresting the suspects was never much of an issue. The video led investigators to them within weeks, and charges were upgraded from assault to homicide when Barnes succumbed to his injuries.

From there, it’s been a seemingly never-ending waiting game for Barnes’ sister Diane, the whole family and a community of supporters that includes Project HOME’s Sister Mary Scullion, who paid respects at his funeral in Manayunk’s St. John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church.

Having covered the case from the outset, I’ve seen that support network extend to total strangers who, over the past two-plus years, emailed to keep tabs on when suspects Aleathea Gillard, Shareena Joachim and Kaisha Duggins would face trial.

That question now has an official answer: Diane Barnes recently met with officials in the District Attorney’s Office who told her to expect jury selection – or guilty pleas to be entered– on Monday, January 29.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

3 women plead guilty in 2015 beating death of homeless man outside Olney gas station

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/crime/robert-barnes-homeless-man-beating-death-gas-station-3-women-plead-guilty-olney-philly-20180129.html?photo_2

In a beating that was captured on surveillance video and gained international attention, Gillard punched and kicked Barnes and pummeled him in the head with a piece of wood from a broken rocking chair that was in her van. Her friend, Kaisha Duggins, hit him with a hammer in the head, legs, and feet. Another friend, Shareena Joachim, tried to spray Barnes with Mace, but instead accidentally sprayed Gillard’s 13-year-old son.

The beating was so severe that Barnes fell into a coma. He died seven months later.

On Monday, the three women — Gillard, 37; Duggins, 27; and Joachim, 26 — pleaded guilty to charges of voluntary manslaughter, conspiracy, and possession of an instrument of crime in Barnes’ death.

Sentencing is currently scheduled for April 20th.

 

[JoeFromLB]

3 women plead guilty in 2015 beating death of homeless man outside Olney gas station

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/crime/robert-barnes-homeless-man-beating-death-gas-station-3-women-plead-guilty-olney-philly-20180129.html?photo_2



Sentencing is currently scheduled for April 20th.

We can only hope they get the maximum sentence. What a vicious and heartless crime!

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Family outraged over sentencing delay in case of homeless man's fatal beating

http://www.phillyvoice.com/family-outraged-over-sentencing-delay-case-homeless-mans-fatal-beating/

Yet again, Robert Barnes’ family will have to wait to see justice served.

Though three women already pleaded guilty to a brutal group attack that ultimately killed the 51-year-old homeless man, his family learned this week that sentencing will not go off this Friday as previously scheduled.

Diane Barnes, the victim's sister, didn’t learn of the continuation until Wednesday. Word came after her sister Debbie had already traveled from Connecticut for the proceedings, countless supporters had rearranged their schedules to attend and Diane Barnes had prepared a victim-impact statement.

“I’m sick to my stomach,” Barnes said. “I was preparing for this for months, and it brought all the pain back as I was trying to get on with life. Now, we have to put it aside and then bring it all back up again in a few months. It’s horrible.”

June 29th is the current date for sentencing.

 

[JoeFromLB]

At least it's being resolved without too many years going by.

If this were California, the case would still be in the preliminary stages, with final resolution 5-7 years away.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

3 women get long prison terms in fatal beating of homeless man at Olney gas station

Saying that three Philadelphia women had “unleashed a savage act” on a homeless man when they brutally beat him outside an Olney gas station three years ago, leading to his death seven months later, a judge on Friday sentenced the women to prison terms of more than a decade.

During a nearly three-hour hearing, Common Pleas Court Judge Sandy Byrd said the beating death of Robert Barnes, 51, which was captured on surveillance video, “is one in which we all witnessed the very worst attributes of humanity.”

The three women — Aleathea Gillard, 37; Kaisha Duggins, 27; and Duggins’ sister, Shareena Joachim, 26 — pleaded guilty Jan. 29 to charges of voluntary manslaughter, conspiracy, and possession of an instrument of crime in Barnes’ death.

Byrd sentenced Gillard and Duggins to the maximum term of 22½ to 45 years in state prison. He sentenced Joachim to 12½ to 25 years.

After emotional hearing, justice served for family of homeless man fatally beaten outside Olney gas station

“I’ve lost faith in the world we live in. There’s no compassion. There’s no regard for someone’s life,” said Barnes’ sister Diane, welling up with tears while talking about how their mother died while Robert lay comatose.

As for Diane Barnes, Friday marked the end of a painful chapter in her family’s history. She told her brother, while comatose, that she wouldn’t stop fighting until she got justice for him. On this day, she finally did.

“I feel good. I really do. I’m happy that the judge showed them no leniency,” she said. “It got me a little upset when they said they wanted to apologize. Don’t dare try to apologize now. You’re only doing that now because you feel bad that you got caught.

“And I was so happy when they said she couldn’t hug her mother. I’ll never get to hug my brother again. That turned my stomach a little bit. But I definitely feel good. I walked outside into a nice, sunny, beautiful day, and they won’t get to do that for many years.”