A man who murdered a family, including a five-year-old boy, in a Detroit home has been sentenced to a maximum of 60 years in prison.
Malcom Ray Hardy, 18, pleaded guilty earlier this year to three counts of second-degree murder for shooting and killing Aaron Benson, LaShon Marshall and their son, Caleb Harris, in February 2022. FOX 2 Detroit reported.
He committed the horrendous murders when he was just 16, but that didn’t stop a judge from sentencing Hardy to between 28 and 60 years for each of three counts of second-degree murder, to be served concurrently.
Given that he was sentenced to two years on a charge of illegal weapons possession, Hardy will serve at least 30 years in prison.
Based on Hardy’s prior relationship with Marshall’s boyfriend Benson, it is believed that Marshall was the primary target on the night of the shooting, but Hardy ended up killing little Caleb because he was afraid the boy would “rat him out,” according to previous court testimony.
Pictured: Malcom Ray Hardy, 18, who pleaded guilty to a triple murder he committed when he was just 16 years old. He was sentenced to 28 to 60 years for shooting and killing Aaron Benson, LaShon Marshall and his son, Caleb Harris, in February 2022.
Hardy and several of his friends ran errands for Benson, such as delivering marijuana, FOX 2 Detroit reported.
A friend of Hardy’s who saw him the night of the triple murder testified that Hardy returned from the house with Benson’s gun.
This friend also testified that Hardy acted in self-defense, saying that Hardy told him that Benson grabbed him by the shirt and tried to throw a punch.
According to this initial version of events, Benson’s escalation was what caused Hardy to grab Benson’s gun and shoot him.
Hardy then reportedly told this friend that he had accidentally shot Marshall in the butt before shooting her in the head.
His last victim was Caleb, Marshall’s son. Twenty-two shots were fired, and Caleb and Benson were shot nine times. Marshall was shot four times.
During a hearing in 2022, Judge Kenneth King did not believe Hardy’s story that he acted in self-defense, and Hardy would later admit his guilt.
From left to right: Aaron Benson, Caleb Harris and LaShon Marshall, Caleb’s mother. All three were killed by Hardy in their Detroit home.
Caleb Harris, pictured, was just five years old when Hardy shot him nine times. He would have been eight years old now if he had survived.
On Thursday, the day of sentencing, the court heard victim impact statements, one of the most devastating of which was delivered by Marshall’s sister.
“My sister decided to give you a chance at life because she could relate to the lifestyle you were living,” Chenell Marshall said in court. “My sister cared about you. … LaShon had so much life to give to the world and you stopped her for your own selfish reasons.”
He then moved on to the act of senseless cruelty against his nephew.
“Caleb, the name you should never forget, did not live past the age of five. You took the life of a precious baby who was innocent,” she said.
“You were the one who took him to the store, who played with him. My nephew’s life did not deserve to be taken by your hands.”
In her victim impact statement, Caleb’s grandmother said her grandson’s death “has devastated our entire family, especially his brothers and sisters.”
“I have 32 grandchildren,” he said. “This young man has stolen something from me… today he would have turned eight years old. The week after he was murdered would have been his birthday.”
Family members are pictured in court awaiting Hardy’s sentencing.
“He was so little and so innocent, why did you do that?” Caleb’s grandmother asked the killer through tears. “God asks us for forgiveness, but this is something I have not forgiven this young man for.”
Hardy wore a face mask in court and stood behind plexiglass barriers as he listened quietly to the people whose lives he turned upside down with his crime.
After the victim impact statements were finished being read, Hardy addressed them and apologized.
“I apologize to the court, to the family and to everyone. I didn’t mean for this to happen and I pray for his family and mine,” Hardy said.
Judge Wanda A. Evans, who sentenced Hardy, said she hoped the family would “find some peace” now that the consequences have been handed down.
“It won’t be easy, the pain will be there for some time, I really hope you can find some peace,” Evans said.
After 30 years, Hardy will be eligible for parole and by that time, he will be 48 years old.