Man Sentenced to Life for Gruesome Murders of Jamaican Girlfriend and Her Relatives

NEW YORK, United States  – A New York man will spend the rest of his life behind bars for the brutal 2022 murders of his Jamaican girlfriend and two of her family members, authorities announced Friday. Travis Blake, who resided on 155th Street in the Jamaica section of Queens, was handed a life sentence without the possibility of parole for the killings of Karlene Barnett, Dervon Brightly, and Vashawna Malcolm.

The sentencing by Queens Supreme Court Justice Ushir Pandit-Durant followed Blake’s conviction on April 2. A jury found him guilty of first-degree murder, three counts of second-degree murder, and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree after a three-and-a-half-week trial.

On Friday, Queens District Attorney (DA) Melinda Katz detailed the horrific discovery of the victims’ bodies, which were found with numerous puncture and blunt force wounds and in a state of decomposition inside their shared residence in Jamaica, Queens.

“Travis Blake viciously murdered his girlfriend, her son and a visiting cousin with knives, hammers and a screwdriver, and then fled New York to avoid capture,” stated DA Katz. “There are no words to describe the trauma and lifelong sorrow this defendant has caused for the family of Karlene Barnett, Dervon Brightly and Vashawna Malcolm. This defendant deserves every day of his sentence, and we stand with the victims’ family as they continue to mourn this overwhelming loss.”
Justice Pandit-Durant sentenced Blake to life imprisonment without parole for the first-degree murder charge. Additionally, he received 25 years to life for each of the second-degree murder charges, to be served consecutively for a minimum of 75 years, and 364 days in jail for each weapon charge, to be served concurrently with the first-degree murder sentence.

The investigation revealed that on June 24, 2022, emergency services responded to a 911 call from a resident at the 155th Street home regarding a deceased individual. The caller, a son of the homeowner, encountered a strong odour and discovered the body of his cousin, 22-year-old nursing student Vashawna Malcolm, in an advanced state of decomposition on a bed in an upstairs bedroom.

Further investigation led police to the locked basement, where the bodies of Karlene Barnett and her son, Dervon Brightly, were discovered. Trial records indicated that Barnett and Blake met at work and subsequently began a relationship, sharing the home with Barnett’s son, Brightly; Malcolm, who was visiting from Jamaica for the summer; and Barnett’s niece. Another son of Barnett also resided in the home.
DA Katz stated that Blake was apprehended in Maine weeks after the murders and subsequently extradited to Queens. Evidence presented during the trial included a blood-covered screwdriver with a missing bit found near Brightly’s body. The missing bit was later recovered from Brightly’s neck during the autopsy.

DNA evidence linked Blake to a blood-stained shirt and bloody footprints found on the basement floor near Barnett’s body. Furthermore, a fingerprint matching Blake was discovered on a blood-stained mop on the stairs leading to the basement.

Adding a chilling detail to the case, DA Katz revealed that “Internet activity from a phone used by Blake reflected that he was researching which states had the death penalty in 2022.”