Shondell shot him and killed him. My son is not a monster. He’s not a monster. He smiled as his sentencing was read aloud. He will go to prison for the rest of his life. That means he will die there. What is going on? Why are these people like this? And Khalil repeatedly hit him in the head. The following stories tell the tale of three young teenage killers who had crazy reactions to getting life sentences.
Shondell Jackson was born in February of 1991. His life took a turn for the worst on July 6, 2009. He was walking through the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee alongside a friend of his, twenty-year-old Derek Thomas. They came across a student who was walking to his River West apartment, which is located no more than a mile away from campus. This student was twenty-one-year-old Nathan Potter, who was a senior at the university at the time.
Nathan was talented and creative. He was well loved by friends and family, and he had his whole life ahead of him. All of that would change forever when he came across Shondell and Derek. These two men planned to rob Nathan. They held him at gunpoint and demanded that he hand over all of his money. But when he insisted that he had none, Shondell shot him and killed him.
Both men would later pay for this cowardly and heartless act. He was arrested, and his case went to trial. Throughout the entire trial, he showed absolutely no remorse for what he did or sympathy towards Nathan’s heartbroken family. At times, he could reportedly even be seen smirking and gesturing towards them. Once, he even smiled at them. Nathan’s mother, Denise, acknowledged how evil her son’s killer was while speaking to the judge.
“We see how evil Shondell is in court,” Denise said. “Looking at us, swearing at us, and smiling.“
Nathan’s father, James Potter, addressed the court as he gave a victim impact statement.
“Judge, there is nothing that could be said to bring back our Nathan,” James said. “But your sentence can ensure that Shondell does not have the opportunity as a free man to inflict pain like this again. Is there such thing as pure evil? We think so.“
He was found guilty of first-degree homicide and robbery. His sentencing occurred while he was just nineteen years old. The judge presiding over the case believed that should Shondell ever be released, he would be a public menace, quick to kill again.
“Not caring of human life and the need to protect the community, which I also fear for with Mr. Jackson being out in the community,” the judge stated. “I am going to go ahead on count one, the first-degree intentional homicide conviction, and I am going to sentence Mr. Jackson to life imprisonment without possibility for extended supervision.“
It was then that Shondell quickly looked over his shoulder, presumably to glare at his victim’s family. A female officer grabs his head and tries to force him to look forward at the judge, but he struggles against her, a look of pure hatred on his face. Sobbing can be heard in the background, and it is unclear whether the person sobbing is from Shondell’s or Nathan’s side. While this is all going on, Nathan’s parents and little sister hold on to each other, tears streaming down their faces silently. Meanwhile, the judge tries to continue with her sentencing.
“I know that that is something that is reserved for the most serious of cases,” the judge continued. “And I believe that this case rises to that level.“
The female officer begins to struggle to try to keep Shondell from looking at the victim’s family, and eventually, a male officer has to come over to assist her. While the sobbing in the courtroom continues to intensify, someone can be heard moaning in the background, likely one of Shondell’s family members. As the judge struggled to regain control over the courtroom, someone not in view screams at the top of their lungs.
“No!“
This seems to be all it takes to finally set Shondell over the edge. He stands up and begins fighting against the two officers. A lawyer dressed in a suit and tie has to come over to try to help them. Shondell is fighting hard, so much so that the wooden table in front of him is pushed away. With the help of other officers and reportedly the use of pepper spray, they managed to get Shondell down to the ground. There is a lot of crying in the background while all this is going on, and you can even hear Shondell’s own family offering words of encouragement and support.
Eventually, the officers managed to get Shondell under control and bring him back up to his feet. He is then quickly handcuffed and ushered out of the courtroom. He continues to fight them, and at one point, an officer has to grab the back of his head to keep him under control. Just before he is taken out of the door, you can hear a woman wailing in the background, likely Shondell’s mom.
“Oh my God!“
Another one of Shondell’s family members screamed in the courtroom. It was as if she believed Shondell’s sentencing was their fault. Nathan’s emotional mother was interviewed after the sentencing. She explained how terrified Nathan’s young sister was to go into the courtroom that day and be around Shondell.
“Our little girl was afraid,” Denise said. “She was afraid that he was going to try and kill one of us. She was afraid, especially when they were yelling threats. She’s like, ‘How can I sleep now? What is going on? Why are these people like this?‘ You know, I hope that as he spends the rest of his life in jail that he comes to terms with it and does value human life, and that there is some redemption for him at some point. But that’s totally up to him. And for his family to say to us, ‘We hate you,‘ what’s that all about? We didn’t do a thing to him.“
Meanwhile, Derek, Shondell’s accomplice, pleaded guilty for his involvement. He was sentenced to only twelve years in prison. The insane reaction quickly went viral online as many news organizations covered it. One reporter that was present noted how quickly the officers responded to Shondell’s outburst.
“12 News Nick Bohr is live at the courthouse with new information,” the broadcast introduced. “Nick, deputies reacted quickly to that outburst, right?“
“Kathy, almost as if they anticipated it,” Nick Bohr reported. “Which they did, because of the convicted killer’s actions last February during his trial.“
Despite everything Shondell did, there are still people out there that believe Shondell’s sentence was too harsh and that he deserves a second chance due to his young age.
“When I saw it on the news, I even cried,” Shondell’s mother stated. “I’m like, ‘Oh my God, I can’t imagine what that mother is going through.‘ I never had a clue that my child had anything to do with it. My son is not a monster. He’s not a monster.“
For now, he remains behind bars, where he will likely stay for the rest of his life.
Jordan Klee was a well-loved high school football player from Ann Arbor, Michigan. He had his whole life ahead of him when he was found dead in October of 2016. The entire community was rocked. It had been the very first homicide of the entire year, and nobody could understand who would have done something like this to an innocent young man. He was supposed to be in class that day at his school, Pioneer High School, but instead, he had been shot dead. His killer was a teenager named Danta Wright. He and two other men had tried to rob Jordan at gunpoint. The robbery ended with Jordan’s death.
The community was desperate for answers, and answers they finally got from Danta himself.
“The victim in this case loved playing football here at Pioneer High School,” a news reporter stated. “But his death back in October 2016 sent shockwaves through this student body and the community. It was the first homicide in Ann Arbor in 2016, and today we learned what happened as his admitted killer came forward.“
Danta Wright was supposed to have had a pre-trial hearing for the case. Instead, he admitted that he and two of his friends were trying to rob Jordan at gunpoint. Danta answered the lawyer’s questions calmly and directly.
“And who are you going to rob?” the lawyer asked.
“Jordan,” Danta replied.
Jordan’s heartbroken mother was in court, wiping away tears while she sat a short distance away from her son’s killer. She had no choice but to listen as she learned for the very first time what happened to her beloved child.
“And as a result of that armed robbery, what did you do with that gun?” the lawyer continued.
“Aim it at Mr. Jordan,” Danta answered.
“And did you shoot him?“
“Yes.“
“Where did you shoot him?“
“In the top of his head.“
“And did you kill him with that shot?“
“Yes.“
Jordan died at an apartment complex not far from his home. His body was discovered by a maintenance worker. It is hard to understand why it was Jordan who was targeted, but Jordan’s mom at least had the satisfaction of knowing who did this to her child. Throughout all the legal proceedings he went through, Danta never seemed to be truly sorry. He didn’t even seem to be daunted by the fact that he knew that because of what he confessed, he would likely spend much of his life behind bars. He didn’t even try to be respectful in hopes of maybe getting the judge to go easy on him. In fact, he smiled as his sentencing was read aloud. It is safe to say that the judge presiding over the case noticed his disrespectful behavior and took the necessary steps to teach him a lesson.
“Well, Stephen, it’s a case of a murdered Ann Arbor teen, and it was quite a shake-up in court today,” a reporter covered. “The judge asked the prosecutor to throw out the sentence agreement and take this case to trial. There was a long recess as everything was put on pause because of this seventeen-year-old’s behavior.“
While being sentenced for murder, Danta Wright had nothing but a joyful and happy smile on his face as Jordan’s mother read her victim impact statement and expressed the pain she felt over the loss of her son. Tears were running down her face as she tried her best to be strong. Jordan’s mother, Karen Klee, was too emotional to read her victim impact statement in court, so she had Courtney Klee do it for her. Courtney tried to remain as strong and stoic as she could.
“I’ve lost laughter and love,” Courtney read on behalf of Karen. “I no longer have the hope of having grandchildren. I’ve lost the enjoyment of holidays and birthdays and of everyday life.“
All the while that this statement is being read, Karen wipes away tears while Danta appears unapologetic. When Danta finally gets a chance to address the court and the victim’s family, he offers no apology or remorse.
“I just want to tell y’all I’ll be home soon,” Danta said. “Or I’ll be Kion. I love my family.“
The judge presiding over the case was completely fed up.
“Watching you sit there, smile, laugh, and shake your head like this was no big deal,” the judge told Danta. “I’m very tempted to just say I’m not going to accept this sentence agreement. We’ll go to trial, and if you’re convicted of felony murder, you’ll go to prison for the rest of your life. That means you’ll die there.”
As you can see, Jordan and his mother were very close and had a very good relationship. It must have been absolute torture for her to realize that not only had her baby been taken from her, but his killer was completely unapologetic.
“On the night I manage to sleep, I wake up hearing my son scream for me, only to realize all over again, night after night, that my son is dead, gone,” Karen’s statement continued. “Taken for what? Why? Can you answer that question? Why? Why? I have an answer you will never—your answer will never be good enough. There will be an answer—there will never be an answer good enough to satisfy why you were involved in the shooting of my son. Why you thought that he should be like—what you thought he had should be yours. Why you felt that what you wanted, you were entitled to. Why you thought his death was an acceptable response to your jealousy or desire to have what he had. Clothes, money, jewelry, phones, shoes, whatever it was you felt you needed more than his life. Your why will never be better than his life. Your want will never trump my son’s death. You get to live. You get to wake up every day. Your life continues. It is my sincere hope that whatever it was you wanted so badly that you felt the need to murder my son was worth the next years of your continued existence.”
As more information came out about who Jordan was, this case became all the more disturbing. This year was supposed to be a year of celebration, of senior pictures with prom, graduation, and parties. Instead, it was a nightmare. A nightmare that no parent should ever endure. Wanting to put this whole awful ordeal behind them, Jordan’s family opted not to go forward with a trial and instead stick with the original sentencing.
“This sweet family does want to move on with this,” the prosecutor noted. “They want to get some closure from this case. They want to try and forgive this defendant and all of his actions.”
“So because for the first time in my life I feel hate in my heart, here’s what I hope,” Courtney read from the statement. “I hope every time you want for a jacket, you stay cold. I hope every time you want for shoes, you get a hole in yours. I hope every time you want a meal, you go hungry. I hope every time you want a bed, you have a sleepless night. I hope that every time you wish for your mother, she doesn’t come to visit. But more than anything, because I’m nothing like you, I don’t wish or hope any of that upon you. I simply wish you go to prison for the immense amount of time your plea agreement allows, that you become something more than what you were taught to be in your miserable life. And because it’s obvious to me and everyone here that you need help. Your actions have led you to a prison cell, but you have also created an empty cell that I live in every day.”
Danta’s attorney apologized for him in court.
“His smiling was in no way meant as disrespectful either to the family, to the victim, or to this court,” the attorney argued.
Danta was sentenced to twenty-three to fifty years in prison for armed robbery and second-degree murder. Do you think that this is harsh enough? Let us know in the comments.
This is the story of seventeen-year-old Frenetia Torres. Frenetia, along with seventeen-year-old Nicholas Evans and eighteen-year-old Khalil Miller, took the life of a twenty-one-year-old man named William Tanchez. How did they do it? She promised him intercourse. Nicholas and Khalil knew that William had a crush on Frenetia, and they decided to take advantage of it. They told him that Frenetia agreed to sleep with him if he paid them three hundred dollars and came to a wooded area in an Atlanta subdivision. He agreed.
When William arrived at the decided-upon location, Nicholas pointed a gun at him, and Khalil hit him over the head with a stick. There was a struggle as William tried to get a hold of the gun, and Khalil repeatedly hit him in the head. During the tussle, the gun went off and hit William. The three teens took any valuables that William had and then fled the scene. Khalil later checked to make sure that William was dead. William’s body would be discovered the next day. At first, police had no idea who William was, nor did they know who had done this to him and why.
“There is no identification on the body,” a police spokesperson reported. “As we will go through our missing persons reports and see if there’s any match to any missing persons reports and this possible victim.”
Police were eventually able to identify William and piece together what had happened. All three teens had been spotted at the scene of the crime, and all three teens were arrested. Both Khalil and Nicholas admitted what they did and were charged with felony murder, aggravated assault, and armed robbery. Frenetia remained silent. Because Frenetia hadn’t technically physically harmed William, she probably believed that her charges would be less severe than the other two teens. You could see her shock clearly when her charges were read aloud in court.
“You have three warrants for armed robbery and one warrant for felony murder,” the judge read.
Frenetia’s eyes were wide, and she shook her head in confusion and shock. Khalil also seemed confused by his second armed robbery charge, while Nicholas simply stayed stoic and expressionless. A beautiful service was held in William’s memory by his church family.
“Sometimes young people are in the wrong place at the wrong time and with the wrong people,” William’s minister, Roque Meraz, said.
Investigators say they are not sure how Tanchez and the three teens made their connection. Tanchez had no connection, I’m told, to the neighborhood where he was shot and killed. The jail records show suspect Nicholas Evans lived just down the street, and all three were identified as being at the scene. Frenetia, Nicholas, and Khalil didn’t just go down for William’s murder; they were identified as being a part of other recent robberies in the neighborhood too, including one that happened just five days before William’s death. It is safe to say that they were all looking at quite a bit of jail time, with Khalil in the worst position since he was legally an adult. The three teens were held at the local jail without bond.
One of the craziest parts about this case is that it took place back in 2018, and the case has not been discussed in a public sense. There must be a lot of details going on behind the scenes to explain why, after all this time, these individuals have not yet gone to trial after so much time has passed. But they are all facing serious charges that could land them in prison for the rest of their lives.
“For those teenagers, we lost our kid,” a relative stated. “But there are three more over there. They—they have to suffer with the consequence of what they’ve done.”
What sentence do you believe is fair in this case? Let us know in the comments.
