CLEVELAND — Four years after Alishah Pointer was brutally murdered, three of her killers learned they will spend the rest of their lives behind bars.
Pointer, 22, was kidnapped, tortured, and killed, and her body was found in a burned-out house in East Cleveland in November 2021. The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner's Office determined that she died from a gunshot wound.
Today, Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Judge Mollie Ann Murphy sentenced the three defendants.
- Anthony Bryant was given life in prison without the possibility of parole.
- Brittany Smith was given life in prison with parole eligibility after serving 41 years.
- Hakeem-Ali Shomo was also given life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Bryant was found guilty of aggravated murder, murder, felonious assault, kidnapping and conspiracy. Smith pleaded guilty to aggravated murder and conspiracy. Shomo was found guilty of aggravated murder, felonious assault, murder, kidnapping, conspiracy and having weapons under disability.
"I can not emphasize enough the torture she (Pointer) experienced by the individuals in addition to the others," Murphy said.
Three other defendants, Portria Williams, Nathaniel Poke Jr. and Destiny Henderson, will be sentenced on Friday.
During today's sentencing, prosecutors called Pointer's killing an utterly heinous act, saying that the murder was a coordinated effort by the defendants.
Pointer's mother, Erica, spoke in court and said her daughter had "the most beautiful smile and an even bigger laugh."
"They robbed her of a promising future. She never got the chance to have children, get married...when they murdered my baby, they killed off a piece of me," Erica Pointer said. "I still can't believe she's gone."
Alayscha Pointer, Alishah's older sister, also spoke.
"When you're the oldest sister, you are always compelled to protect your siblings... This instance, I felt like I could never be there for my sister. I spent 21 years protecting my siblings as the older sister, for somebody to take my mother's child will never sit right with me," she said.
Alishah Pointer's twin sister, Aaliyah, said during the sentencing that losing her twin gave her PTSD, and it's something she hasn't been able to recover from.
"Losing my twin sister is a loss that can not be measured or repaired. She wasn't only my sister, she was my other half, my best friend," Aaliyah Pointer said.
Of the three defendants, Smith was the only one who spoke. She carried a bible in the courtroom and apologized for her actions to the family for their loss. Shomo did not speak, and no family members commented. Bryant didn't speak, but family members spoke on his behalf, asking the judge for mercy, given that he was 18 at the time of the crime and overcome with emotion.
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