Man sentenced to life in killing of woman in Broward; family still pleading for answers

Shola Henry, sitting on the witness stand Friday morning, recounted how her sister Stepha Henry vanished during their trip to South Florida almost two decades ago. Her voice shook as she faced the man convicted of killing her sister, a 22-year-old aspiring lawyer who hasn't been seen since 2007.

"She didn't do anything to you, and I'm sure of that," Shola said to stone-faced Kendrick Williams, convicted last month of Henry's murder. "You took someone who actually meant something, who could actually make an impact and change the world... That's not justice, is it?"

For 17 years, Henry's phone and bank account have gone unused. Her body has never been found. But prosecutors say she was killed after police discovered large amounts of her blood inside a 1995 Acura Integra linked to Williams. Henry and her sister Shola were visiting their aunt in Miami Gardens when Henry, a graduate of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, disappeared.

In October, a Broward jury took less than an hour to convict Williams, now 49, of killing Henry. He was arrested in 2008, though it took almost two decades for the case to reach trial.

On Friday, Broward Circuit Court Judge N. Hunter Davis sentenced Williams to life behind bars. More than a dozen of Henry's loved ones broke down and embraced one another in the courtroom after hearing the sentence.

Williams' attorney Paul Donnelly had requested that Williams be sentenced to 20 years in prison because he didn't have a previous criminal record. Prosecutor Abbe Rifkin, however, said Williams "earned every single day" of a life sentence, pointing out the gruesome details in Henry's murder — and Williams' history of violence against women, including his ex-wife.

"We don't know what happened that night, but we can guess," Rifkin said. "Although Stepha is not here, she left us clues.... We know that she struggled for her life."

Henry's sister Shola, wearing a shirt emblazoned with Henry's college graduation photo, recalled how her caring and ambitious sister anchored her family. She said she underwent years of therapy after Henry vanished on a trip to South Florida while celebrating Shola's 16th birthday.

"My family has never been the same," Shola said. "I have never been able to celebrate my birthday the same [way]. I've lost so many moments with my sister I can never get."

'Not closure'

For years, Henry's mother Sylvia Henry said she has suffered knowing that Williams "cruelly and prematurely denied [her] family of life experiences." Henry's father Steve Henry was never able to walk her down the aisle, and Shola's children will never have an aunt.

"I'm denied the privilege of seeing her graduate from law school and select furniture for her first home," Sylvia said on the stand.

Over the years, Henry's aunt Carlita Clarke said she has replayed the events of May 29, 2007, in her mind. The girls were staying at her Miami Gardens home — and she has since lived with the pain of thinking about what Henry endured and how alone she felt when she was killed.

"Words can not describe how heartbreaking and devastating it is," Clarke said. "You being found guilty is not closure for me. It's justice for Stepha."

Clarke, in between sniffles, turned to Williams and said she hoped he would one day confess where he placed Henry's body. Williams, who has two children, didn't address the court during the sentencing.

"You [not] being able to see your kids ever in life again, Stepha parents will never see Stepha again," Clarke said. "That's closure for me."

"I didn't want him to come out at all to see his kids when I'm not seeing my child," Sylvia told reporters after the sentencing. "I'm satisfied that he got his imprisonment that he deserved, but I still would like to know what happened to my daughter."

Henry, the daughter of immigrants from Trinidad and Tobago, was the "leader of the American dream," her sister Shola told reporters outside the courtroom. She graduated in the top 5% of her class at John Jay College and had a close relationship with the college's president, who called the family earlier Friday and told them he has never forgotten Henry.

Shola said she still mourns how her sister was robbed of her future working in the criminal justice system — and that she will never be truly at peace due to her sister's murder.

"The foundation of my home has forever been disrupted, and me and my family now have to move on and to figure out how we're going to piece ourselves back together," Shola said.

Henry vanished during Miami trip

In 2007, Henry traveled to South Florida hoping to surprise her 16-year-old sister Shola for her birthday, gifting her a dream trip to Miami for Memorial Day weekend. It was the first time they had traveled alone. The sisters shopped, pampered themselves and attended a reggae concert.

During their trip, a friend invited Henry to a barbecue hosted by Williams' wife. The couple shared two children but had been separated. Williams offered to take Henry and her friend to a nightclub at Peppers Cafe, 3828 N. University Dr. in Sunrise.

Around 1 a.m. on May 29, 2007, Williams picked Henry up in an Acura Integra. Henry promised her aunt that she would make it back in time to get on her flight to New York.

A camera crew taping a promotional video at the club captured footage of Henry and Williams together. But Williams, Rifkin said during opening arguments, initially denied ever being at the club. He later told investigators that he left the club, but Henry had decided to stay.

When questioned, Williams told police: "If I tell you what happened, I will never see my son again," Rifkin said.

The night Henry was last seen, there was no activity on Williams' phones for a period of six hours on one and three hours on the another, Rifkin said, indicating that the phones might have been turned off. The evidence that Henry was killed, however, was in the Acura.

While the car had been thoroughly cleaned and reeked of chemicals, Rifkin said, forensic tests revealed that there had been large amounts of blood inside.

"Whatever happened in that car was violent, and it led to her death... at the hands of the defendant," Rifkin said.