Craigslist defendant says he wasn’t there; Sanders’ brother says robbery continues

The fourth murder suspect in the Craigslist killing of an Edgewood man told a jury on Tuesday that he was never at the scene of the murder.

Clabon Berniard’s attorney said his client didn’t flee the scene of Jim Sanders’ murder in April 2010, like the other three defendants.

Jim Sanders was gunned down in his home last year after advertising a diamond ring for sale on Craigslist.

But Derek, the brother of Jim Sanders, says Berniard is just as guilty as Joshua Reese, Kiyoshi Higashi, and Amanda Knight, all of whom have already received prison sentences for Sanders’ death.

According to Derek, the prosecution believes Berniard was the one who beat Sanders’ widow, Charlene, pistol whipped one of the Sanders sons, and got into a fist fight with Sanders shortly before he was shot by Higashi.

“He’s definitely the one that escalated the whole thing,” said Derek. “He took it from a basic robbery to a beating, to what eventually lead to my brother’s death.”

And as the final trial for the Craigslist murder suspect continues, Derek says that it’s been very difficult for the Sanders’ family.

“Its very, very tough. To just sit there 20 feet away from the guy and see him there, smiling and cracking jokes,” Derek says. “It didn’t end on April 28 of 2010, it happens every day, that Charlene goes to bed and her husband’s not there, and every day that the boys come home their dad’s not there. Every time we get together that he’s not there – every day this robbery continues.”