A Wilkinsburg man who shot and killed a woman and her 4-year-old daughter in an act the judge called calculated and vicious will serve the rest of his life in prison.
Marquise St. Julien-Givner, 23, was sentenced Tuesday to two consecutive life terms with no chance for parole for killing Temani Lewis, 21, of East Hills, and her daughter, Kaari Thompson, on Dec. 1, 2022, outside Brooklyn Market in Pittsburgh’s Lincoln-Lemington neighborhood.
The punishment, mandatory under Pennsylvania law, was imposed by Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Bruce Beemer.
“It’s hard to explain the level of calculation and viciousness that goes along with multiple individuals encircling a vehicle and opening fire,” Beemer said. “The loss is incalculable.”
Investigators said St. Julien-Givner was one of four people who opened fire on a Jeep Cherokee parked that night outside the store in the 1500 block of Lincoln Avenue.
Lewis had just picked up her boyfriend and stopped at the market to grab snacks. Her boyfriend and daughter remained in the car.
But as Lewis returned to the vehicle, four people who had surrounded the Jeep opened fire.
Police found 34 shell casings at the scene.
Kaari was killed, and Lewis died nearly a week later. Her boyfriend was grazed.
Police charged St. Julien-Givner and Tarrell Jennings, but have not publicly identified the other two alleged shooters.
The two men went to trial in November. Jennings chose a jury trial, while St. Julien-Givner opted for a bench trial in which the judge renders a verdict.
At trial, the prosecution did not identify a motive for the attack but said it was not needed in order to find the men guilty.
The Jennings jury ended up hung, and Beemer granted a mistrial. That case is scheduled for another jury trial in June.
Beemer found St. Julien-Givner guilty of two counts of first-degree murder and related charges.
On Tuesday, Allegheny County Assistant District Attorney Diana Page asked Beemer to run the sentences for both first-degree murder counts consecutively to recognize that two people were killed.
“This has had a profound impact on this family,” Page said.
At the time of her death, Lewis was facing attempted homicide charges in the shooting of two people in Homewood the previous summer. Her trial had been scheduled for January 2023, the month after her murder.
On Tuesday, Lewis’ mother and Kaari’s grandmother, Christina Potter, called the crime “senseless.”
“This is the biggest tragedy I’ve ever had,” she said. “I don’t wish this on no one.”
The defense did not present any testimony on St. Julien-Givner’s behalf, but Owen Seman, who represents him, said his client wishes to maintain his innocence and plans to appeal.
St. Julien-Givner spoke briefly.
“I know this is a tragic event that occurred,” he said. “I feel sadness for what happened to these people, too. I grew up with them. I knew them.”
But, he continued, “at the end of the day, that’s not the type of person I am.”
