A Lake Criminal Court judge sentenced a Hammond man Thursday to 60 years in prison for shooting his cousin to death over what prosecutors described as a case of damaged pride.
32-year-old Shaun A. Whitelow was convicted in May of murdering 30-year-old cousin Darvell L. Smith early November 3, 2019, as Smith sat in his parked car in the 2300 block of White Oak Avenue in Hammond’s Robertsdale neighborhood.
The two had fought the night before during a family party at another location in Hammond. Police were called, but no arrests were made during the earlier fight.
Whitelow also was convicted in a subsequent bench trial of a firearm enhancement.
Judge Diane Boswell told Whitelow she struggled to craft a sentence for him.
“It just baffles me how this could even have occurred,” she said. “I keep thinking there must be more to it than this. There must have been some underlying issues with you and your family for it to have gotten to this point.”
Smith’s wife, Ashley Adkins, said Smith’s children are traumatized and grief-stricken. Even the mention of Smith’s name brings one son to tears, and his 8-year-old son frequently cries and asks why his daddy can’t come home, she said.
Smith’s older sons witnessed the fight that led to the homicide and have been cut off from Smith’s side of the family, she said.
Before Whitelow’s arrest, he attended his cousin funeral, walked by his crying children and gave his grieving mother a hug.
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“That’s not a man who has any remorse for the devastation he has caused for so many,” she said.
Lake County Deputy Prosecutor Maureen Koonce asked for a sentence of 75 years in prison.
Family members described Smith as a flawed but loving man who worked and took care of his children, she said.
“No one wants to believe a family member could commit such a heinous act against another family member,” Koonce said. “But it’s true.”
Whitelow stalked Smith in the hours leading up to the shooting and killed him “execution style” as he sat in his car, she said.
After Whitelow was convicted, he called his fiancee from jail and told her the reason he was found guilty was because she testified she didn’t know how he got home that night, Koonce said.
“He tried to blame her for not covering up his lies,” she said.
Defense attorney Randy Godshalk objected to Koonce’s discussion of Whitelow’s jail calls, saying he wasn’t given notice they would be brought up. Boswell said his objection would be noted.
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Whitelow refused to make a statement, saying he was concerned about future legal proceedings. He asked that an appellate public defender be appointed.
Defense attorney Randy Godshalk asked Boswell to show Whitelow leniency because he has children.
Whitelow’s father, JB Whitelow, also said his grandchildren need their father and told Adkins his door remains open to her and her children.
Godshalk asked the judge to consider that the man accused of driving Whitelow to the homicide scene took the Fifth Amendment and refused to testify.
The defense attorney asked Boswell to sentence Whitelow to a minimum sentence.
Boswell said Whitelow deserved a more lenient sentence because of his lack of any felony convictions. He had four misdemeanor convictions before his arrest in Smith’s murder.
However, the judge refused to give much weight to to Godshalk’s argument Whitelow’s children need him. Whitelow could have considered that before he killed Smith, she said.
Boswell said Whitelow showed no remorse.
Whitelow could have at least offered condolences, without admitting to any role in the homicide, to his cousin’s wife and children for their loss, she said.
“To sit there and not have any emotion at all,” Boswell said. “All the family members are impacted.”
Boswell gave Whitelow credit for more than a year already served, plus more than three months of good time.
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