OAKLAND (BCN) — The grandmother of an 8-year-old girl who was fatally shot while she was at a sleepover at a friend’s apartment in Oakland three years ago testified today that her life hasn’t been the same since she was killed.

Testifying in the penalty phase of the trial of Darnell Williams, a 25-year-old Oakland man, Estanlita Carradine, the grandmother of Alaysha

Carradine, said, “It just hurts so bad that I’ll never see her again. I love her so much.”

Frequently crying and covering her face with tissue, Carradine said, “I don’t know how I’m still living without her. I can’t even breathe

sometimes.”

Williams was convicted on May 6 of two counts of murder with special circumstances for the shooting death of Alaysha at an apartment in the 3400 block of Wilson Avenue in Oakland at about 11:15 p.m. on July 17, 2013, and the unrelated fatal shooting of 22-year-old Anthony Medearis in Berkeley about seven weeks later.

He also was convicted of three counts of premeditated attempted murder and the special circumstance of lying in wait for the Oakland shooting, the special circumstance of murdering Medearis during the course of an attempted robbery and the special circumstance of committing multiple

murders.

In the penalty phase of his trial, which began on Monday and may conclude next week, the same jury will choose between recommending the death

penalty or life in prison without the possibility of parole.

In making their decision, jurors can take into account the facts of the crimes, the suffering of the victims and the impacts of the murders on

survivors.

Prosecutor John Brouhard told jurors in his opening statement in the penalty phase that Williams should get the death penalty because he has a

history of committing violent attacks, including a conviction for assault with a semi-automatic firearm for shooting a childhood friend in Berkeley in 2009 and several fights while he’s been in custody.

Brouhard said in the guilt phase of Williams’ trial that Williams fired at least 13 shots into the apartment on Wilson Avenue on July 17, 2013, in retaliation for the fatal shooting of a close friend in Berkeley about five hours earlier.

Brouhard said Williams wanted to harm anyone who was close to the man he thought had murdered Davis, and went to the apartment because the

man’s ex-girlfriend, who was the mother of the man’s 7-year-old girl and 4-year-old boy, lived there.

The mother wasn’t home when Williams arrived at the apartment but the two children were there along with their 63-year-old grandmother and

Alaysha, who was a close friend of the 7-year-old girl and was spending the night there.

The 7-year-old girl, the 4-year-old boy and their grandmother were also struck by gunfire but survived their injuries.

Brouhard said Williams shot Medearis on Sept. 8, 2013, because he thought he was a snitch and also because he wanted to rob him.

Estanlita Carradine said she had a special bond with Alaysha because she was her first grandchild, saying, “I didn’t realize that I could

love anyone other than my own children until she was born.”

Carradine said Alaysha, whose nickname was “Ladybug,” liked to cook and “was a good kid and would make you laugh.”

She said, “Ladybug was the kid everybody wished they had.”

Carradine said, “Ladybug was my life, I lived for her.”

Alaysha’s mother, Chiquita Carradine, was present in court today, as were about a dozen other family members, but she didn’t testify.

After Carradine left the witness stand, Williams’ lead attorney, Deborah Levy, told jurors that she understands their emotional reaction to

Carradine’s testimony but said they should also use their emotions to choose to spare Williams’ life because he had a difficult childhood, as his mother frequently was in jail or prison.

Williams’ stepfather, Anthony Westbrook, said of Williams, “I know what he did isn’t right and I don’t condone what he did. I’m the father of

three girls myself.”

But Westbrook said, “Taking his life ain’t going to make it right” in terms of compensating for his crimes.

Westbrook said of Williams, “I love him as a human being, as a son.”

Williams’ penalty phase will resume on Monday, when the defense will call to the witness stand Gretchen White, an Oakland psychologist who

specializes in death penalty and murder cases.