Maximum sentence given to Markus Guy in 2024 St. Albans double murder

Guy shot both victims twice. His attorneys had argued that he was acting in self-defense.

The jury recommended a life sentence with the possibility of parole after 15 years for Jarrett’s murder.

Sentence

Wednesday, Kanawha County Circuit Judge Maryclaire Akers sentenced Guy to:

• A life sentence with the possibility of parole after 15 years for the first-degree murder
• Up to 10 years for using a firearm during the crime
• 40 years for the second-degree murder

The sentences will all be served consecutively, meaning Guy will not see a parole board for 27 and a half years, according to attorneys.

He will also pay $18,872.95 to the West Virginia Crime Victims Compensation Fund who paid for the funeral costs of Carnefix and Jarrett.

Family speaks

Family members of Carnefix and Jarrett submitted letters to Akers and spoke to the court Wednesday.

Carnefix was a respiratory therapist at CAMC Memorial Hospital. Jarrett was an eighth grader at Winfield Middle School where he played the trombone and planned to be a pilot.

In a letter, Beth Carnefix, mother of Alisha Brooke Carnefix, wrote about the pain of finding out her daughter and grandson had been killed and how the murder still affects her life. She struggles at work and doesn’t have the energy to see her other grandchildren, she wrote.

“I often lay with my grandson’s sweatshirt and cry,� she wrote. “I see them covered in blood.�

Beth Carnefix wrote that she had financial struggles after her daughter’s death. Eventually, her daughter’s car and house were returned to the bank.

“I felt as if I was letting my baby girl down,� she wrote.

Shelby Frazier, girlfriend of Guy at the time of the murders, also wrote a letter about how the grief has impacted her life.

“I do wake up, sadly, every day emptier than the day before,� she wrote. “Living a life without the woman who showed you all about it is miserable. It’s like waking up in hell every single day.�

While victim advocate Brittany Leavitt read the letters, Beth Carnefix and Frazier leaned on each other and cried.

Alisha Carnefix’s sister, Tiffany Owens, also addressed the court. She said she felt anger, fear and sadness initially. It wasn’t until about 11 months after the murders that she felt grief.

“I cried at the smallest things like songs on the radio or a picture or even seeing an airplane,� she said.

Hailey Douglas, 15, was Jarrett’s cousin and best friend. She said Koda deserved to pursue his dreams and “to continue touching the lives of others with his kindness and love.�

“The night of Feb. 6, 2024, Markus didn’t just put a bullet into Koda, he put one into all of us,� she said. “We all now must live with the hole in our heart, a hole that can never be filled.�

Guy’s apology

Guy’s attorney Ed Bullman asked Akers to sentence Guy to concurrent sentences on some terms, meaning they would be served at the same time.

“This isn’t … the usual person that I represent who comes before you with a string of felonies, a string of second chances or a string of prior visits to the penitentiary, prior felonies, unemployed, not taking care of his family,� Bullman said, pointing out Guy’s employment, education, military service and lack of felonies.

Akers emphasized that Guy took the life of a child and blamed Jarrett for it. Guy had said he was afraid of Jarrett.

Guy apologized for his actions, adding an apology to his own family and children.

“I wish it had never happened,� he said.