An emotionally devastating case in Texas shows how terrible domestic violence can be. A 48-year-old man named Dakari L. was given 65 years in jail for killing his 45-year-old wife Rhonda L.
The shocking event where he shot and killed her while she was recording the whole thing on her phone happened almost three and a half years ago.
Rhonda Dakari was an engineer who worked from home. On May 19, 2021, Dakari did the horrible act of violence in their home. Two teenage children of the pair were at the scene of the crime.
They were being homeschooled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Prosecutors said Dakari had been frightening his wife for years before the deadly event.
Unsettling things started to happen when Dakari told his kids to go to the family truck. This was the first step in the murder of Rhonda. After seeing their father with an assault gun, one of the teens texted their mother to say they were scared for her safety.
Rhonda was warned about the risk, so she started recording on her phone, which would later be very important evidence, as Dakari walked into the room where she was working.
When things got worse, Dakari went into Rhonda’s room where she was working and pointed the gun at her.According to a news release from District Attorney K.
Ogg, “He told her that if she wanted to pray, she had to do it then and that they would both be dead that day.” Soon after, he shot her several times.
When the kids saw what happened, they called 911. When cops arrived, they found Dakari in his open garage and Rhonda dead on the floor of the living room.
At first, Dakari said he was acting in self-defense because Rhonda was allegedly attacking him with a knife.
But the recording Rhonda made, which showed her last moments and her attempts to calm things down, showed that his claims were not true. The names of her children were the last words she spoke.
As Dakari’s hearing was about to start, he pleaded guilty. After that, he was given a sentence of 65 years in jail, with the possibility of parole after 30 years.
Assistant District Attorney K. Marshall, who was in charge of the case, talked about how terrified Rhonda was for a long time and how brave she was when she knew she was in immediate danger.
Marshall said, “Rhonda bravely recorded Lenear while he held an assault rifle and told her she would be dead by the end of the day.”
The recording was very important in showing that Dakari’s claim of self-defense was false and that he planned his actions ahead of time.
In a moving speech, her mother, D. Tatum, talked about her loss and forgiveness while focusing on faith and healing.
For the news, she said, “I am not angry.” “I pray, just like last night when the kids and I prayed.” “God, do not let them be angry. Help them turn everything around so that God can be praised.”
People knew Rhonda as a loving, active person who worked hard at her job and with her family. Not only did her murder take away the mother of her children, but it also made the community and her extended family deal with how stupid the killing was.
This case is a sad reminder of how deadly domestic violence can be and how important it is to spot and deal with signs of abuse before they get worse and can not be fixed.
