A man will serve 25 years in prison for the deaths of two children under his care, according to court records.
Vantrease Frazier pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder for the May 2019 killing of Brayln Blunt, 2, and the September 2020 killing of his infant daughter Janiyah Chambers, 11 months.
Judge Michael Taylor sentenced him to 40 years on each count, 15 suspended, five years post-release supervision, , ordered him to pay $130,000 to the Crime Victims Compensation Fund, $2,500 in restitution to Luvena Harris and two $5,000 fines. His sentences were ordered to be served concurrently, according to court records.
According to the indictment, Frazier killed both children “by striking or otherwise abusing” them.
He allegedly beat Blunt, who had been left in his care, on May 7, 2019, leading to the child’s death three days later. The same thing happened Sept. 21, 2020, with Chambers, who succumbed two days later.
Frazier was indicted on two counts of capital murder, and prosecutors had intended to seek the death penalty, court records show.
Man gets five years in sister’s death
In another case, a man who was accused of killing his sister outside Magnolia in 2022 was ordered to serve five years in prison after pleading guilty to a reduced charge of manslaughter, court records show.
Taylor sentenced Emmanuel Patterson to 20 years, 15 suspended, five years post-release supervision, a $1,000 and ordered him to undergo mental health treatment while in state custody.
Patterson had been indicted on first-degree murder charges in connection with the Dec. 13, 2022, shooting death of Emberly Patterson, 25.
The siblings shared a home at 1034 Highway 48 East, and Patterson had barricaded himself inside the residence, where sheriff’s deputies and state troopers found his sister’s body.
