A man imprisoned in a Broward jail beat his cellmate to death.
The incident occurred last December 16 when Kevin Barnes35 years old, was asphyxiating the other inmate, identified as Janard Geffrard. Soon, she began stomping on his head and upper torso.
More than 20 minutes later, a Broward Sheriff’s Office (BSO) deputy opened the cell door and found Geffrard unconscious and bleeding from the mouth.
According to the arrest report, the attack lasted at least 20 minutes and after the beating, Barnes did not notify officers of Geffrard’s condition or try to get help.
The attacker was captured on surveillance video choking his victim, then left the camera’s view and could later be seen strangling him.
Under cross-examination, Barnes admitted that he strangled his partner because he “didn’t agree with his lifestyle because he was gay” and that he “smelled and never cleaned himself.”
Regarding the kick, he claimed that he wanted to check if he was alive and decided to stop to “spare his life.”
Geffrard was taken by Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue to Broward General Hospital in critical condition, with fractures to his left rib and sternum and bruising to his lungs. On December 26, doctors declared him brain dead and he died five days later.
The BSO Internal Affairs Unit is investigating the incident.
For now, NBC Miami reports that two employees, a detention officer and a detention technician, are on paid administrative investigation leave.
Barnes, for his part, is charged with felony murder and evidence of bias in committing the crime, among other charges.
