Norristown man gets life for fatally stabbing friend

A Norristown man was sentenced to life in prison Tuesday after admitting he stabbed his childhood friend nearly two dozen times and set his body afire in a Chester County apartment - all for $350.

Prosecutors had initially sought the death penalty for 22-year-old Shakeem Carter for the February 2013 murder of 17-year-old Kevin Allen.

"I just hope that monster, for the rest of his life, wakes up in the morning with the same fear that Kevin had in the last five or 10 minutes of his life," the victim's aunt, Pearline Allen, sobbed during the hearing in West Chester.

She was among a stream of Allen's friends and relatives who called Carter an "animal," "demon," or "devil" in testimony before Common Pleas Court Judge Anthony Sarcione.

Carter looked forward as they talked, the tattoo that wraps around his neck - Cutthroat - barely visible beneath the collar of his blue oxford shirt.

That tattoo led the police to Carter after the Feb. 12, 2013, murder.

Deputy District Attorney Thomas Ost-Prisco said the two men took the bus from Norristown to Pottstown so Allen could pick up $350 his father left for him in his North Coventry apartment. Once there, Carter used a knife from the kitchen to stab Allen at least 23 times, using such force that the blade bent. He also slit Allen's throat, then set his body on fire using cooking oil from the kitchen.

Surveillance cameras later showed Carter - distinguishable by the tattoo - counting a roll of cash as he sat on the bus back to Norristown, officials said.

Allen's relatives said the tragedy has destroyed their family. The teen, they said, was carefree and goofy. He loved basketball even though he was shorter than his friends and mostly came out on the losing end. When it rained, he often ran outside to splash in the front yard.

Allen had been in trouble at school and with the police but was working to improve his life before the murder, according to his mother, Jacqueline Castile.

He hoped to go to culinary school. Two days after his death, Wendy's called to offer him a job, she said.

Carter pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, robbery, and arson and will not be eligible for parole.

His attorney, Kathleen Boyer, said Carter was diagnosed with an intellectual disability when he was a child, an issue she could have raised if prosecutors sought the death penalty. The Supreme Court has ruled it unconstitutional to execute those who are mentally ill.

The judge seemed shocked when he realized Carter had known the victim and his family.

"Look at the devastation you've cause an entire half of the courtroom," Sarcione said, gesturing toward nearly two dozen of Allen's friends and family packed into the courtroom. "It's just unspeakable."

Carter didn't acknowledge the comment. And when offered a chance to address Allen's family, he declined.

Boyer said Carter had weighed whether to do so but knew he couldn't answer their many questions. Instead, Boyer said, Carter asked her to express his regret.

"For what it's worth," she said, "I believe the remorse is genuine."