Florida Man Allegedly Killed by Cellmate for Being Gay

Kevin Barnes is facing attempted felony murder charges and “evidencing prejudice” while committing the offense.

Authorities say a 29-year-old Florida man was beaten to death by his cellmate because he was gay.

Kevin Barnes, 35, admitted to deputies that he killed Janard Geffrard Dec. 16 in Broward County Jail because Geffrad was gay and didn’t clean himself.

“The news of his death was obviously a complete shock to (Geffrard’s) family,” family’s attorney, Josiah Graham, told ABC news.

Graham said Geffrard was openly gay and the father of a 10-year-old son.

“It’s nothing that any parent should go through, hearing the fact that your child passed away is one thing, but to hear that they were brutally executed because they were gay—it’s just a completely entirely different scenario you’re dealing with,” Graham said.

The victim’s mother, Marcia Irving, told WSVN News that two days passed before she was notified. “He was already dead when I got there because it was too much time for them to give him help,” she said.

Irving is requesting an investigation into the deputies’ actions following the attack.

“We just want to know what happened,” she told WSVN News. “How did they let him down like that?”

According to the arrest report, an official who watched surveillance footage of the incident claimed Barnes was seen choke-holding Geffrard from behind. He was then seen in the kneeling position for two more minutes before releasing Geffrard and walking away.

The report stated deputies came to the cell more than 20 minutes after attack began. They found Geffrard unresponsive on the floor bleeding from his mouth.

The Broward County Sheriff’s Office (BSO) Internal Affairs Unit has opened an investigation into the incident. In an interview with The Miami Herald, BSO spokesperson Carey Codd said two BSO employees are on administrative leave with pay pending the investigation.