BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — The families of the victims spoke out on not only the anger, pain and frustration they felt in court, Wednesday, but also what they are aiming to do now that that chapter is closed.
Barbara Massey, Kat Massey's sister said, "He shot my sister in the head twice. The death penalty is the only thing I want."
These are words that came from Massey's sister after hearing the suspected gunman's apology and life sentence verdict.
"I can't understand anybody hating somebody to travel that far. I went only online just to get some background on him. I looked online and it's 5,000 people. Ninety-five person, the census said, is all white. You don't know anything but white. How do you hate something you don't even know," she added.
Geraldine Talley's son, Mark, did not attend the sentencing because he felt like it would not do him any good, but open more wounds.
"You honestly think a neo-Nazi racist is really going to take what you say, feel in vain and feel remorse? Of course not. He showed no remorse when speaking the apology. I really can care less about the apology," he shared with 7 News. "We can finally put this stupid stuff behind us. It happened. We shed our tears and stuff about it, but this is a symptom. We got to go to the root cause of it." // "For the other families who did take the opportunity, that said what they needed to say to Peyton, I hope that they find their peace."
The two were inseparable until the day she died, having seen each other at least four times a day.
"People ask my cousin, 'How are you guys doing?' She said, 'We are still living but our hearts don't beat the same.' That's going to be for a long time," Barbara Massey explained, as she fought back tears.
She shared these sentiments at John V. Elmore's Law Firm, in Buffalo.
She and her loved ones are making baby steps in the grueling, mourning process, as we enter nine months after her sister, who was among ten others, were senselessly killed.
Massey said, "I want to choke him until my fingerprints left a mark around his neck. That's what I wanted, from the bottom of my heart. I have not felt this good since 5/14, since I could speak to him."
Devastated, Barbara is working towards continuing her sister's legacy by working to improve the east side community, keeping streets cleaned and making sure Buffalo remains beautiful, even though a piece of it is now forever gone.
"Stuff like that, I know Kat likes. She loved to see beauty. She loves to see trees. I literally just planted three trees on the street for Kat," she recalled with a soft smile.
She said she cannot do as much as Kat, but doing a fraction of her work brings her solace that she is continuing her legacy.
Meanwhile, Tiara Johnson a Tops employee who was at work the day of the shooting, shared her story for the first time with 7 News.
"I was standing next to Leticia Rogers who made the call the police officers and then two shots when off," Johnson said.
Johnson recalls dragging her body across the floor until she got into a room, behind the customer service desk.
The Brooklyn native and recent Canisius College computer science graduate said she wants to change her career path after this horrific experience, into an impactful one.
"Right now, I am working at a school on the east side of Buffalo, as a teaching assistant. I am trying to figure out a way to bring tech to the schools," Johnson said.
The same goes for Andre Mackneil's daughter, Deja Brown, who wants to become an activist for Black people.
Brown explained, "It's not enough voices out here. I see a lot of people doing things but I feel like it needs to be more. I have a voice and I feel like since it's motivating a lot of people, I might as well use it for something good."
