CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The family of two Charleston women shot and killed on Charleston’s West Side says no amount of prison time for the gunman will change what happened.
Bria White, 26, and Kytiana Belcher, 22, both of Charleston, were gunned down by Marquis Goodman, 24, of Detroit, in Oct. 2021. Goodman thought White had set him up to be robbed, so he shot her. He said Belcher was a witness, so he shot her too.
Belcher’s cousin Rae Dickerson called Goodman a “monster” who should be kept away from women.
“I don’t feel like he should get out because he’s a monster. What other women is he going to kill? What is he going to do to the next woman that makes him mad? Is he going to beat us up or is he going to shoot us?” Dickerson told Kanawha County Circuit Judge Kenneth Ballard before Goodman was sentenced Monday.
The judge handed down the maximum sentence of 80 years in prison or 40 years on each of two counts of second-degree murder to be served consecutively. Goodman was facing 10-40 years on each count after pleading guilty to the lesser offense. He was originally charged with two counts of first-degree murder.
White’s mother Leticia Norman broke down in tears during Monday’s hearing, along with other family members, to share how Goodman’s actions destroyed her life.
“Whatever you got mad at her about, it didn’t have to go this far. My life is ruined. My heart will forever be broken,” she said.
White’s body was found on Hunt Avenue after she was shot multiple times. Belcher’s body was found a few hours later in between houses on Grant Street. She also suffered multiple gunshot wounds, police said.
Goodman then fled to Detroit where he was arrested less than a week after the shooting.
Norman said White died 11 days before her 27th birthday and five days before her own birthday. She said she’ll never understand how Goodman can call her daughter “his friend” and not show remorse.
“You didn’t just shoot them one time. You shot them multiple times. I don’t know why you would get so evil to do something like that and then you want leniency? You didn’t give them leniency,” Norman said.
Goodman’s attorney Matthew Victor had asked the judge to sentence him to the least amount of time of 10 years on each count in the Anthony Correctional Center for youth offenders.
Victor said there’s been some misconceptions that Goodman traveled from Detroit to Charleston to deal drugs.
“There’s no evidence here whatsoever that drugs were involved in this case,” Victor said. “He came here to get out of the tough life that he had in Detroit.”
Sentencing day for Marquis Goodman, of Detroit, who admitted to fatally shooting two Charleston women in 2021. He previously pleaded guilty to a lesser offense of 2nd degree murder which carries 10-40 years in prison on each count. @WVMetroNews @580WCHS pic.twitter.com/wNF6k2CD5y
— Carrie Hodousek (@CarrieHodousek) May 6, 2024
Goodman went to face the families to apologize for the shooting, but his words were met with resistance. He said he’s had a lot of time to think about what he did.
“I love these two individuals with all my heart. I grew up with Bria White and her sister,” he said. “What I did was wrong. I never intended to hurt Bria. I never intended to hurt Kytiana.”
The families then shouted from the back of the courtroom, “What do mean you didn’t intend to hurt them?”
Kanawha County prosecutors stood silent at sentencing as part of Goodman’s plea agreement.
Dickerson ended her testimony by saying she felt like Goodman was only putting on an act so he could get less prison time.
“I feel like you really don’t care because the cries that you did, you didn’t even have tears,” she said. “It was women. You’re a man. To think that you’re going to get the Anthony Center is crazy. That’s a tap on the wrist. You need prison.”