Woman sentenced for killing her friend execution-style during candle-lighting ceremony

BROOKLYN, N.Y. (TCN) -- A 46-year-old Georgia woman will spend decades behind bars for fatally shooting her 42-year-old friend "in the head at point-blank range" at a memorial service in Crown Heights.

The Brooklyn County District Attorney's Office announced May 19 that a judge sentenced Claudia Banton to 23 years to life in prison in connection with the death of Delia Johnson. A jury previously convicted her in April of second-degree murder and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon.

According to prosecutors, on the evening of Aug. 4, 2021, Banton and Johnson were at a candle-lighting ceremony after a funeral for a mutual friend. Banton reportedly approached Johnson from behind while she was talking to a group of people and fired at least five shots at her. Authorities said the defendant then fled in a vehicle.

U.S. Marshals arrested Banton in Jacksonville, Florida, on Nov. 8, 2021.

Johnson leaves behind a daughter, WNBC-TV reports.

In a statement, District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said, "This shooting was a cold-blooded execution of a woman who was attending a ceremony to honor a late friend. It is especially shocking that the defendant was so brazen as to carry out this murder among a crowd of mourners, causing chaos and fear as they ran from the gunfire. My thoughts are with Delia Johnson’s friends and family who are heartbroken by this senseless loss of life."

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