KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A man convicted of killing his friend outside the Claycomo Ford plant will spend the rest of his life behind bars.
Deonte Buffington-Hardy shot and killed 26-year-old Brandon Nunnally two years ago as he clocked out of work.
Now, two women are left to raise Nunnally’s children without their father, and three precious kids are living without their dad.
“I hurt for my kids daily because they ask for their dad and all I can say is, ‘Daddy’s in the sky, and he loves you very much,'” said Dana Wonder, who was dating Nunnally when he died.
Aviana was just six-weeks old. Her siblings Ivory and Eli were just 1 and 5 years old, respectively, when their dad, 26-year-old Brandon Nunnally, was shot and killed.
A man Nunnally grew up with, Deonte Buffington-Hardy, was convicted of killing him as Nunnally left the Claycomo Ford plant in August 2016.
“Never would I have ever thought somebody he’d known for 10 years and did consider his best friend would do something like that to him,” Wonder said.
Wonder hasn’t spoken publicly about the tragedy until now. She still feels the pain of losing Nunnally but is thankful his killer will be locked up for life.
“Brandon will never get to see his kids ever again, and it’s only right what Deonte got sentenced to. I really feel like he deserved that,” Wonder said.
Nunnally shared two children with Wonder and a third child with Heather Leimbach, who said she still deeply cared for him.
The two women keep in touch for the kids and see reflections of Nunnally in their beautiful smiles.
“I tell him (my son) all the time I love him (Brandon) and miss him and don’t think your dad doesn’t love and miss you, too. And just pray we see each other on the other side,” Leimbach said.
Still to this day, the hardest remains the unanswered questions. Buffington-Hardy didn’t speak in court. When sentenced, the judge called it a “zero-motive” murder.
“I don’t think we’ll ever know,” Wonder said.
So now, they focus on sharing pictures and memories and reminding their kids every day of their dad’s love.
“He was a really good dad, and he was a family person, and that’s the part I miss most,” Leimbach said.
Buffington-Hardy is now in the Clay County Detention Center, awaiting transfer to a state priso, where he’ll spend the rest of his life, without the possibility of parole.
If you’d like to help Nunnally’s surviving children, you can do so here or here.
