‘YOU DESTROYED MY FAMILY’
‘Team Kenai’ confronts stepmom guilty of killing child
Crying out that her family was “destroyed,” the mother of 3-year-old Kenai Whyte broke down yesterday as she watched her son’s stepmother plead guilty to the young Roxbury boy’s killing two years ago.
“I don’t know your motive,” said Ashley Young, addressing Maria Buie at Suffolk Superior Court. “You took it upon yourself to ruin my life. You took my husband. You took my son. You destroyed my family. It takes a lot for me every day to get up to do what I need to do for my kids and myself. What was harder was watching my son be buried in a six-foot hole at 3 1⁄2 years old alone.”
“He was only 3 1⁄2 years old when he was taken from me,” Young said. All of his firsts ... that is what is taken from his family.”
Buie, 28, pleaded guilty yesterday to involuntary manslaughter for assaulting the young boy at their Roxbury home in 2016 and causing injuries that led to his death two days later.
Suffolk Superior Court Judge Douglas Wilkins sentenced her to a term of nine to 12 years in state prison. Buie had been indicted for second-degree murder and was scheduled to go to trial next week.
The boy’s family, wearing “Team Kenai” T-shirts, spoke to the court on how they’ll never get a chance to see the “sweet” boy go onto to school, prom, college and that his younger sisters would not truly know who he was.
“Kenai was smart, full of love,” said Deborah Morris, his grandmother. “He did so much in his little time here. He was my best buddy.”
Buie’s attorney Christopher Belezos told reporters “she is taking responsibility. She is feeling remorse and she wants to move on with her life.”
Kenai Jamari Whyte died on Feb. 2, two days after being found unresponsive in the family’s home and being rushed to Boston Medical Center for traumatic injuries.
Court records showed that he suffered a fractured back, was bleeding from the eyes and had bruises and lacerations from scalp to torso. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner found that the boy’s death was a homicide caused by blunt force trauma.
Buie had turned herself in to police in March 2016 for assault and battery charges.
“Our family has been ripped apart from this tragic incident,” Morris said. “You have left a void that can never be filled. When you get out, you will be able to watch your daughter do all the things that we won’t be able to see Kenai do. So please take this time to be a better you, to fix you in all the areas of your life so that you can be a productive member of society when you return to our community. We all need second chances so take this second chance to be a better you.”