A popular figure in the Haitian music industry, on the run from detectives who wanted to talk to him about the recent murder of his ex-girlfriend and her boyfriend, shot himself to death in a Northeast Miami-Dade apartment Tuesday night, as police closed in on the building.
New York City police think Joseph Kernizan, a music promoter, gunned down Tracy Bennett and her lover, veteran Jamaican dancehall artist Captain Barkey in the parking lot of a Bronx motel Saturday.
The U.S. Marshals’ fugitive taskforce followed Kernizan’s trail from New York to a two-story apartment building on Northwest 157th Street and Second Avenue, near the Golden Glades interchange, said Barry Golden, a spokesman with the Marshals Service. Police feared he was preparing to flee to his native Haiti.
Golden said marshals and police arrived at the quadruplex at 10:14 p.m. Tuesday.
“We surrounded that location from all sides. We pulled in one of our vehicles, we had lights and a P.A. and we asked for residents of the apartments to step outside,” he said.
At one point, investigators saw Kernizan stick his head out of a ground-floor apartment window, Golden said. He then attempted to run out a back door, but when he saw police officers he shut the door and locked it, Golden said.
Minutes later, a man who had been inside the apartment with Kernizan came out, and police heard three shots. Officers shattered a back window to enter the one-bedroom apartment.
“When we went in, he was dead” on the floor from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Golden said. Police say they found three handguns and two loaded AK-47 assault rifles at the scene.
Kernizan, 42, also known as “Country,” was the New York promoter of NuLook, a well-known and popular konpa band on the Haitian music scene. Police began the hunt for him after he was pointed out by witnesses as the man behind Saturday’s killing of Bennett, 38, and Barkey, 50. Kernizan is the father of two of Bennett’s three children, and she was often seen at his shows, friends of the couple say.
Born Joslyn Hamilton, Barkey is best known for the mid-‘90s dancehall reggae hits Go Go Wine and Bun Fi Bun. Followers of dancehall music say Barkey’s 2010 single She Nah Lef Joe, in which Barkey sang in Jamaican patois that his life was over because of cheating, was about the love triangle involving himself, Bennett and Kernizan. Barkey had a wife in Milwaukee, according to news reports.
Golden said Bennett had a restraining order against Kernizan for stalking her.
On Wednesday, residents in the building where Kernizan took his life said they were surprised at the police activity in an otherwise quiet neighborhood.
Niyah Garnett said she heard a gunshot while standing outside the police perimeter Tuesday night. She said police did not allow residents into the complex until after 3 a.m.
“The guy who lived in the apartment was quiet, he’d come and go. I don’t know his friend who died,” she said.
The news of Kernizan’s death has shaken Haitian music fans, who described him as a nice guy and loving father. He had recently opened a club in the New York area. NuLook, which he promoted, has a huge following in South Florida, where for the past several years they were the featured band for the annual gala at Notre Dame d’Haiti Catholic Church, basically volunteering their talents.
“He was a good asset to the Haitian music market in New York,” said Rodney Noel, owner of Moca Cafe and Lounge in North Miami and the promoter of South Florida’s largest Haitian music festival, Miami Compas Fest. “He used to have at least five parties a year that drew between 1,500 and 2,000 people.”
Noel said while the two weren’t close friends, they knew one another and spoke occasionally.
“We have a small market, everybody knows everybody,” said Noel, who added, “It is really sad. My heart goes out to all of the families involved, especially his kids. They are the real victims here, the 8- and 10-year-old.”
Miami Herald staff writer Jacqueline Charles contributed to this report
Friends wonder why Tracy Bennett, a beloved nurse at Winthorp University Hospital in Long Island, rated among the top five per cent of hospitals in the United States for clinical excellence, and the mother of two of Kernizan’s kids, one seven and one 12, would leave the opulence of her plush suburban space to seek sojourn at a seedy hotel that was offering a three-hour US$40 special on Friday night.
Bennett is reported to have taken out an order of protection against Kernizan, who police describe as 5’5″ tall, weighing 200 pounds.
Sources close to the Haitian community in New York say Kernizan was very well known in that community as both a music producer and a promoter who regularly threw successful parties.
“I am startled at how much the lyrics of his songs represent what was going on in his real life,” remarked Claudette Harris, a Jamaican journalist based in New York.
Harris was making reference to two of Barkey’s songs, Bun Fi Bun and Nah Lef Joe that both speak gleefully about infidelity in relationships and the dramas they bring.
In reference to the second song, the 2010 release, Nah Lef Joe, some reggae insiders feel the song is a bare-faced and defiantly Herculean taunt at Kernizan.
Those insiders say Bennett would never leave her husband, despite a reported five-year fling with Captain Barkey, a former Jamaica Defence Force soldier.
Others dismiss the inference as mere coincidence. Either way, one line in the song, ‘Mi life done over bun’ proved fatally prophetic.
Tracy Bennett
In the aftermath of the tragedy, Barkey’s Milwaukee-based wife Mavis Hamilton told a local newspaper she knew nothing of her husband’s relationship with Bennett.
The grief-stricken hospital where Bennett worked is tight-lipped about events of the past few days. A source who wishes to remain unidentified confessed that there is emotional upheaval at the workplace due to the murder and some colleagues are choosing to get counselling as they try to make sense from Bennett’s demise.
A review on the funeral:
Tearful, entertaining send-off for Barkey
By Audrey Cole-Crossdale
chatychaty.com: – The funeral for entertainer Captain Barkey was extremely well attended. Among the crowds of well wishers at the Hagley Park Seventh Day Adventist Church on Thursday were family members, friends, fans, promoters, selectors, artistes and curious onlookers.
The funeral could be described as ‘old school meets new school’ as entertainers from both the old and new school came out to show their love and support for their friend and colleague, Captain Barkey. Unlike he entertainment fraternity was well represented., Some of those in attendance were Frisco Kid, Triston Palmer, Tony Rebel, Josey Wales, Burro Banton, Cutty Ranks, Dr. Lieutenant Stichie, Lukey D, Thriller U, Kip Rich, D’Angel, Stacious, Twins of Twin, Baby Chris, New Kidz, Elephant Man, Richie Stephens, Wickerman, Winston “Wee Pow” Powell, Isaiah Laing, Guidance among others.
Notably absent was female deejay, Macka Diamond, a close friend of Captain Barkey who must be crying in her heart. Macka is currently on a tour in the U.K.
It was an emotional affair filled with mixture of laughter and tears and moods of: sadness, disappointment, disbelief , shock and denial.
The most touching moments came from Barkey’s widow, Mavis, a lady of immense strength and dignity. Elegantly attired in a silver and black outfit, Mrs Hamilton represented with pride and her speech received the thunderous applause that it deserved. She told the congregation that she and Barkey had been married for 26 years, and described the union as one filled with love, happiness, joy, humour and comfort. According to her, Barkey had been her life, her sunshine, her universe and meant everything to her. Likewise, Mavis Hamilton said she knew just how much she meant to Barkey. She stated that regardless of how he died, she had married him for better or worse and she would stand by him as her marriage vows said ‘until death do us part’.
Another memorable moment came with Lukey D’s tribute in song (Gone to soon, Michael Jackson) which drew an emotional response. He, however, was unable to complete his tribute as he was too overcome with grief and had to be comforted and held up by good friend Thriller U.
Thriller U also gave a tribute in song ( I look to you, Whitney Houston) and Dr. Lieutenant Stichie gave a remembrance that brought laughter and tears.
At the graveside, a grief-stricken Wickerman ran when the casket was opened for last viewing and bawled out “Jesus’”. The sight of his best friend and colleague lying in a coffin was too much for Wicker to bear The visible wounds in Barkey’s head had many screaming and bawling uncontrollably.
Barkey’s mother, who was observed sitting at the graveside, demonstrated strength as she was seen consoling other family members. She indicated that her strong faith in God kept her going through this period of grieving. She spoke about her son proudly and said ‘ Him was one of mi best pickney. As mi head hurt mi, he is there for me. Is Barkey build house put mi, ensure that I go doctor guh look after mi eyes, mi ears, mi teeth and everything. He went all out for me.”
Funeral directors; Brite Lite ensured Barkey got a entertaining farewell, as the procession was accompanied by loud speaker boxes, music and colours of red and white adorned the chariot. Barkey was sent off in royal style on a white chariot dressed in full white. Riding with Barkey on the chariot to the Up Park Camp Cemetery was the attention seeking L.A. Lewis who drew attention to the funeral procession as it traveled from Hagley Park Road to Up Park Camp. Many persons came out on the road side to watch the procession. At Up Park Camp, soldiers, visitors and employees stopped by the graveside for the ceremony.
Barkey will be truly missed and his passing has left a void in the hearts of many of his friends, fans, and family members who are still in disbelief over his untimely death. Some are still asking ‘why’, while others are saying that a man who had lived such a happy, fun loving, humorous and peaceful life did not deserve to die that way.
