‘It’s still not justice. It never will be, not for me anyway’: Man sentenced in Owensboro triple murder
OWENSBORO, Ky. (WFIE) - One of the people involved in an Owensboro triple murder has been sentenced.
Cylar Shemwell pleaded guilty during the middle of his trial last month.
He was sentenced on three counts of criminal complicity to commit manslaughter and one count of criminal complicity to commit assault.
Each count held an individual sentence of 10 years, with Shemwell being ordered to serve them concurrently.
With that in mind, Shemwell, who was once facing the death penalty, was sentenced to a total of 10 years in prison.
The other suspect charged in this case, Arnett Baines, pleaded guilty in May.
Before Shemwell was sentenced, several people, including Anna Sowders, the sister of one of the victims, gave their impact statements.
“I’ve been forced into the cleanup of a murder scene in the basement that had held memories of my childhood,” says Sowders.
As we reported in 2019, Jay Sowders, Christopher Carie, and Robert Smith were all shot and killed on Audubon Avenue.
Along with Anna Sowders, the court heard from Robert Smith’s mom as well as Kayla Kiper, with whom he shared a child.
“I don’t know what you did to only get 10 years. You should be getting life in prison. You deserve life,” says Kiper. “My baby that’s sitting right there, my baby, she don’t ever get to see her daddy again, and you get to go home to yours.”
Only one person survived those shootings back in 2019, Carmen Vanegas, who took the stand as well.
“You deserve to take responsibility for what you brought on. If it wouldn’t have been for you, Baines would’ve never come in my house,” sais Vanegas as she looked at Shemwell. “You brought him, and you can lie to everybody, but I know. I was there.”
Vanegas spoke with us after court adjourned, recalling the months of therapy and over 25 surgeries she’s endured.
All of it leading to getting to address Shemwell directly. Still, she says his sentence isn’t justice.
“It’s still not justice. It never will be, not for me anyway. I seen the gun go off and everything, and it hurt. I have dreams where I wake up screaming because it’s like I remember everything,” she says. “I wake everybody in the house up. I’m screaming so loud. It’s like it’s happening all over again.”
During our interview, Shemwell’s aunt approached Vanegas.
In what Vanegas says was her first real interaction with Shemwell or Baines’ families since the incident, she received a tearful apology as the two embraced.
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