‘15 years too little for killing my son’

OMAR DAVIS JR

As of Thursday, April 11, 2024

Omar Davis Jr’s mom calls killer’s sentence a ‘slap on the wrist’

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS

Tribune Staff Reporter

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

THE mother of Omar Davis, Jr –– the high-achieving young accountant killed in 2022 –– said the 15-year sentence her son’s killer has received is a “slap on the wrist” that does not bring justice.

Normand Toussaint, initially charged with murder, took a plea deal on Tuesday for a reduced charge of manslaughter. Supreme Court Justice Franklyn Williams, KC, sentenced him to 15 years imprisonment.

Omar’s partially decomposed body was found in a garbage bag in the trunk of a vehicle on August 16, 2022, after he reportedly suffered multiple wounds to his head and upper body, including stab wounds.

Omar’s mother, Gia Whymns, is puzzled by the case’s resolution, including why prosecutors settled for a manslaughter charge when the evidence for murder was allegedly strong.

“Why he couldn’t get 25 years?” she asked yesterday. “He should have been charged with murder because he jook Omar up more than once and he clean up everything, put him in the back of his trunk, jump in his car, had people helping him, and park his car where his body start getting decomposed.”

“When I bury Omar, I couldn’t even had open coffin. I had to close the casket.”

Prosecutors have pursued plea deals partly to shorten the length of criminal trials and reduce the backlog of cases.

Ms Whymns, however, said she was initially assured that prosecutors would pursue the maximum penalty for Omar’s killer.

“The prosecutor told me when I first went to him for the interview, we get this, we get this, we get this, we got all the recordings and all of this and all of that we need to put him away for a long time,” she said.

“Then (Tuesday) he just jumped up and says, we ain’t taking no more than 15 years. He come to me like that was such a good thing and I was looking at this man like, mister, your head can’t be good, hey?”

Ms Whymns claimed prosecutors had a video showing someone helping Toussaint put Omar’s body in a car, but declined to charge that person because of his age –– another decision she disagrees with.

Before his death, Omar had graduated with a double degree from Central State University, where he achieved a 4.0 cumulative GPA. He was scheduled to start an internship with a major accounting

firm in Atlanta. During his childhood in Kemp Road, his father was murdered. His success, despite his background, struck a chord with many who learned his story.

Prosecutors alleged that a fight broke out between Omar and Toussaint over something the former had on his phone.

Two years later, the question of what her son had on the phone still plagues Ms Whymns.

She said if she could talk to her son again, she would ask him what was on the phone.

“What you have on this phone what this boy want that he want hurt you for?” she asked.

She added that speculation and inferences about her son’s sexuality haven’t diminished her love for him.

“I mean, I am hearing stuff but I can’t say because I don’t know,” she said. “I don’t know him the way people describe, at least not even people, what this Normand person describing him as.”

“But I don’t care if that was the case. I don’t care. I love my son no matter what.”

“That’s my son, nobody else.”

Ms Whymns said she has not forgiven her son’s murderer.

“All (Tuesday) he tell me ‘bout he sorry and this his first time killing and all kind different things,” she said. “He turn round and say have his deepest sympathy. I just shake my head because I ain’ even on your run right now. You done spending this little bit of time in jail, coming out and enjoying your life and take my son life?”

She said dealing with her son’s death has not gotten easier.

“It’s never going to get easier because I have so much memories with Omar,” she said. “When I see young men doing so good and you know, I just saying, oh lord, this could have been my son right here.”

“Looking at my next little boy, I can’t never forget about it and it’s killing my next son more than it’s killing me because I trying to be strong for him so that he can’t see me breaking down.”

Fitmiss 7 months, 2 weeks ago

I cannot imagine this mother's pain. This verdict reminds me of the movie Law-abiding Citizen and how the prosecutor felt they did such a good job accepting a plea. The thing is even 25 or 50 years would not be enough, but 15 is a slap in the face. That killing was very personal and overkill. I agree more could have been done in this case from what the mother presented. The person that helped disposed of the body can possibly graduate to a higher level of crime since they were not deterred now by facing consequences. This is just sad and no his sexuality does not matter. This is just sad.

Dawes 7 months, 2 weeks ago

This is ridiculous. This is what the person who helped should have gotten with this person getting a lot longer. I am sorry for the mother that the nation has failed her.

John 7 months, 2 weeks ago

You must understand that both sciences of politics and law are at play in this unfortunate scenario. The fact that a family lost a loved one who showed so much great signs of success is , unfortunately, only secondary. And the pain and emotions will probably last longer than the sentence tge accused killer got and the fact that his alleged accomplice ( AFTER THE FACT) is still a fugitive from Justice.
. . When an accused person agrees to plea bargain and plead ‘guilty’ in a case of manslaughter, this automatically causes his maximum sentence to be reduced by about 1/3 so if the maximum sentence for manslaughter is 30 years, then the maximum in this case is now 20 years. Then the court will also take other factors into consideration. The fact that it is the accused first crime of record, the circumstances under which the crime was committed, though brutal in the face of it, it was not premeditated, but a crime of passion. Hence the fifteen year sentence. And it is more likely that the defense lawyers were trying to get ten.

. And as for the politics of the matter. It is already public knowledge that at least two high profile persons were on the list of suspects of who may have committed the crime. And some of the evidence may be of a very personal if not intimate nature. So the decision to bargain for a plea deal may not only be to avoid embarrassing moments in a trial but some of the evidence and a tearful,emotional, apologetic testimony from the accused can lead to a hung jury or even a not guilty verdict. Then there will have to be a retrial and this can easily lead to a miscarriage of justice or even a ‘ no accused to prosecute if he is granted bail and is being electronically monitored. Hence the saying ‘law has no emotion. Just cold hard evidence.’ And yes tge still grieving family’s pain is real and so is their disappointment in the ‘slap on the wrist’ sentence.

birdiestrachan 7 months, 2 weeks ago

I agree with the mother the sentence is to low his life was worth more than that,,

TalRussell 7 months, 2 weeks ago

O.J. Simpson, the decorated football superstar and Hollywood actor, dead @ 76. --- Good Day!

John 7 months, 2 weeks ago

May his soul finally Rest In Peace

TalRussell 7 months, 2 weeks ago

It's not a perfect system. --- We the populaces' --- Recognise weselves in the judges. --- Good Day!

jackbnimble 7 months, 2 weeks ago

The fact that a plea deal could be offered for such a heinous crime speaks volumes about our justice system. We have prosecutors too lazy to prosecute to the fullest extent of the law and a court system too slow and clogged to try matters in a timely fashion resulting in criminals beating the rap and a victim's family without justice. The system is truly broken and this is sad all around.

John 7 months, 2 weeks ago

Well you have to back that up a little bit first. You must ask the question ‘why was Toussaint charged either manslaughter and not murder?’ And the answer is that he did not set out to kill Omar. Murder was not his intention. The convicted killer admitted and the police report confirms that there was a violent confrontation between the killer and the victim and the fight became deadly. And, in a panic, the killer engaged a third person, who because of his age and relationship to the killer may have not known he was committing a crime by helping to dispose of a dead body. . . So now the accused is charged with manslaughter. Meaning it was not his intention to take a life. So the maximum penalty for manslaughter is 30 years, that being the worse of the worse. So now tge matter goes to trial, running the risk that the accused can be found not guilty. But assuming he is convicted, the judge must now set his sentencing within the parameters of 30 years being maximum. He must also take other factors into consideration, like this being the boys first run/in with the law and also weigh the relationship between the accused and the victim. And after this and a long drawn out revealing trial, the sentence can still be around 18 years and definitely not more than 20. So is it really worth going to trial?