Comeslast Given 2 Consecutive Life Terms Murderer Refuses Chance To Speak; Victims’ Families Bid Him A Bitter Goodbye

As he walked out of court and toward prison Friday, Kenneth “Junior” Comeslast glanced over at the family and friends of the two teenage girls he shot and killed.

It was his first look in their direction. Only Mabel Grantham, mother of one of the victims, bid farewell.

“Bye-bye, Kenny,” she said bitterly.

It could be the last time she’ll see him. The 16-year-old was sentenced to two consecutive terms of life imprisonment without parole Friday for killing Kendra Grantham, 16, and Cindy Buffin, 17.

They were shot while sitting on the front porch of a friend’s Hillyard home, just before 2 a.m. on Aug. 9.

Comeslast fired five shots from a semiautomatic rifle at the lighted porch. Grantham and Buffin fell. Amanda Denny was grazed by a bullet. A fourth girl wasn’t hit.

Superior Court Judge Kathleen O’Connor delivered the sentence demanded by law for aggravated first-degree murder. Juveniles cannot be sentenced to death.

O’Connor called the girls “sitting ducks.”

“There are some people in our society so dangerous that they cannot be permitted to live with the rest of us,” O’Connor told Comeslast. “Unfortunately, Mr. Comeslast, I believe you are one of those individuals.”

Comeslast wore a light tan button-down shirt and tan pants, slung around his hips without a belt and pooled around his shiny shoes.

He showed no emotion during the sentencing hearing. He uttered only three words. Did he want to speak to the court? “No.” Did he understand that this was his chance to speak? “Yes.” Did he have any questions about his sentence? “No.”

Richard Fasy, one of Comeslast’s public defenders, said he planned to appeal the jury’s verdicts. He also acknowledged the pain of people who were close to the victims and to Comeslast.

“My heart goes out to each and every one of them,” Fasy said.

Friends and family of the two victims spoke emotionally about their love for Grantham and Buffin and their hatred of Comeslast.

Denny watched her two friends die. She wrote a seven-page letter to read to the court. Her speech was punctuated by long pauses, a wavering voice and tears sliding down her face.

“When I walk down the street, I am continuously looking behind me,” Denny said. “I have lived and will continue to live every day of my life in fear of death. Anymore, I am afraid to go on living. Or should I say, I don’t know how long life will last for me.”

She’s now 14. Comeslast was her ex-boyfriend. She blamed herself and cried when she first learned he was a suspect. She’s had nightmares and flashbacks.

“Those memories will never fade, and Kendra and Cindy will never be forgotten,” Denny said. “Those two girls are two of the sweetest girls I have ever known. They did not deserve what happened to them.”

Mabel Grantham lost her remaining child on Aug. 9. She said Kendra was her only reason to get up in the morning. Her ex-husband killed their son and himself in 1993.

Grantham talked about her family’s reaction to Kendra’s death. She told of her 5-year-old niece who cries when she sees a cemetery; her 10-year-old nephew who used to walk to McDonald’s and see movies with Kendra; and the nine aunts and uncles who watched Kendra grow up.

“They are devastated and angry, and they are angry at you, Mr. Comeslast,” Mabel Grantham said. “I am beyond angry. …

“You murdered my daughter, and you murdered my future.”

Nick Davis, 10, missed her too. She was his favorite cousin. He stretched tall to reach the microphone.

“Do you know how much I hurt inside?” he asked in a small voice. “She was there for me when I needed someone to talk to, and now she isn’t.”

, DataTimes