“The world didn’t deserve her,” La’Kenya Bausby said Friday, of her late sister Daizsa Bausby, who was sexually abused and murdered by her father in 2016.
A Jackson County judge sentenced Jerry Bausby Friday to two consecutive terms of life in prison for second-degree murder and first-degree sodomy. He was concurrently sentenced to 11 years for incest and sexual abuse.
On March 21, 2016, Daizsa Bausby's body was found in a south Kansas City motel room. Six months later, Jackson County prosecutors charged her father with murder after DNA evidence linked him to the crime. After a weeklong trial in July, a jury found Jerry Bausby guilty.
In her victim impact statement Friday, La'Kenya Bausby described what she and her sister experienced growing up as "hell on earth."
"It felt like we were unworthy of a good life," she said. "But she was determined. Her happiness in a world of evil ... I wanted to be just like her. Life was traumatic for Daizsa, and it ended traumatically."
"He was supposed to protect her and instead he killed her," she went on. "He's a monster."
Jerry Bausby appeard to remain unfazed throughout the July trial. Daizsa's maternal aunt Gaye Martin told the court Friday that haunted her.
"He refused to take responsibility. He did not show any remorse," Martin said.
In his 45-minute statement at his sentencing, Bausby only mentioned his daughter's name once.
"Yes, Daizsa was a star," he said before veering off to talk about himself.
He referred to his daughter's murder as an "extremely unfortunate occurence" and denied culpability, though he did tell the court "the incest virus made its way to me."
"I was bewildered by my sudden behavior, which is why I sought help," he said.
In the rambling statement, Bausby talked about his schizophrenic mom who, he said, beat him with electrical cords, his mental health issues, racism and conspiracy theories about the criminal justice system. Further, he told the court he was a victim.
Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker told KCUR that Bausby had a mental exam before trial.
"This is one of the most horrific, vile ways to die that I have ever seen, in my 20 years of service in this court," Baker said Friday. "He took her life for his own sick, demented sexual pleasure. I see no silver linings in this. No comfort for the pain of those who mourn."
Daizsa Bausby was just weeks away from graduating high school, where she would have left with enough college credits for an associate's degree.
Her voice shaking, Hayley Steel, Daizsa's close friend and mentor, told the court Friday not a day has gone by that she hasn't felt the pain of the loss.
"We'll never truly know what she would have accomplished if her life hadn't been cut short," Steel said.
Andrea Tudhope is a reporter at KCUR 89.3. Email her at andreat@kcur.org, and follow her on Twitter @andreatudhope.
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