DENVER — The mother of a Denver man who was murdered nearly two years ago is speaking out following his killer's sentencing this week.
Casandra Watkins said she is doing all she can to keep her only son, Kanajai Burton, 19, close to her heart after losing him to what she referred to as a senseless act of gun violence in Denver.
"He was my favorite person, you know, in the whole world and he was taken and there's not going to be anybody who can love me the way my son loved me," said Watkins, as she fought back tears.
Watkins said her son and his friend, Elijah Kelly, 23, were both gunned down and killed on the night of Jan. 29, 2022 near East Colfax and North Ogden St. in Denver. Nearly two years later, Watkins still has the shoes her son was wearing the night he was killed.
"It just makes it all real. Makes all of it real," she said. "My son was never, never in trouble a day in his life. He wasn't a street kid. This should not have been his story. He was a good kid, played football. He was a wonderful, wonderful son, wonderful father, brother."
She said Burton leaves behind a young son who he was raising on his own.
Watkins said all of the evidence in the case shows her son found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time.
She said her son's killer — A'darion Sanford — was sentenced to 60 years in prison this week.
"The judge said things like 'closure.' You never really get closure. It never really... it never goes away," said Watkins.
The district attorney's office said Sanford was originally charged with two counts of first-degree murder, but he took a plea deal and was convicted on two counts of second-degree murder.
He will serve 30 years in prison for each count — totaling a 60-year sentence.
Watkins is not calling it justice — but rather the end of a chapter.
"I can grieve properly. But you never really... you will never get closure. The closure I get is when I have my baby in my arms again," said Watkins.
