I want an eye for an eye after my brother was killed in cold blood for challenging a stranger who cut in line
A cold-blooded killing after an alleged dispute over a bathroom line at a gas station has left a family searching for justice.
Danny Kaster, 52, was waiting to use the restroom at a QuikTrip in Phoenix, Arizona, on the morning of January 16, when Deondre Franklin, 25, is said to have cut in front of him.
He informed Franklin that there was a line, which sparked an unimaginable chain reaction that ended in Kaster’s death after Franklin allegedly shot him four times.
Kaster’s sister, Delca Kaster, 51, spoke exclusively to the Daily Mail after Franklin was arraigned this week and said: ‘The level of violence involved in his death is horrifying.
‘My brother simply said to this guy, like, “The line’s back there.”
‘He turned around and looked at my brother and said, “What the f*** are you staring at?” And that’s when the first two shots happened.
‘Then my brother tried to rush him, grab the gun, and tackle him, and that’s when he was shot two more times.’
The mother of two said that it was hard to imagine what justice would look like for her brother but she wanted an ‘eye for an eye.’
Delca Kaster (left) now wants justice after her brother, Danny Kaster (right), was allegedly murdered in cold blood at a QuikTrip in Phoenix, Arizona, last month
Delca spoke to the Daily Mail after her brother’s suspected killer was arraigned this week
Deondre Franklin, 25, was arrested and charged with second-degree murder in connection with Kaster’s death
‘This kid doesn’t deserve to live and breathe, but he will,’ she added.
Franklin was arrested by the Phoenix Police Department and charged with second-degree murder with intent.
He is being held in custody on a $1 million bond, according to jail records.
A police report obtained by local news outlet AZFamily said authorities responded to the QuickTrip store just before 8am and found Kaster lying on the floor outside the bathroom.
Witnesses told police that Franklin grew agitated when he was told there was a line.
Another customer said he saw Franklin pull out a gun and Kaster attempted to wrestle it from him.
Video footage reportedly showed Franklin firing multiple shots before Kaster fell to the ground. The clip, revealed in court filings, has not been released.
Legal documents also state that Franklin allegedly told Kaster that the two could take the argument ‘outside.’
Witnesses claimed Franklin fled the scene in a gray sedan with an unidentified woman.
Police responded to the altercation and found Kaster on the floor on January 16
Delca and Kaster were close siblings. She said her brother was caring and nonjudgmental
The Kaster family has been left in shock since his sudden death last month
Kaster died just before he turned 53. His sister now wants ‘an eye for an eye’
He allegedly called his mother and stepfather and confessed to the murder. Police said his mother convinced him to give himself up the next day.
Delca said detectives told her Franklin cried and seemed remorseful when he was taken into custody.
‘I didn’t want to hear about his tears,’ she said.
Delca was in court on Tuesday for his arraignment. She said that Franklin grinned when his name was called.
‘Prison for him is just going to be a playground,’ she added.
Delca said she was shocked that Franklin only faces a maximum of 25 years if convicted of her brother’s murder.
Second-degree murder is classified as a class 1 felony and carries a minimum penalty of 16 years in prison and a maximum sentence of 25 years for first-time offenders.
Delca noted that since Franklin is only 25 years old, even if he is convicted and sentenced to the maximum penalty, he could still be released by the time he turns 50.
Kaster with his beloved dog, Max, who waited by the door every day after he was killed
Kaster with a friend, his niece, Shelby, and his nephew, Aidan. Delca said he was heavily involved in the children’s lives
The siblings as children. Delca is now campaigning to change the law in Arizona
‘He still has some 30-odd years he could live and breathe, go to his family’s gatherings, he could potentially have a wife. All of those things that my brother didn’t get,’ she said.
Delca has started a fight to change the law. She has drafted a bill to increase the maximum penalty for second-degree murder in Arizona.
‘That’s gonna take years. It’s never going to apply to my brother, but just in his honor,’ she said.
‘That’s all I can do. It’s not gonna help me, but I don’t think that any family should ever have to go through this and then just be told “this person’s only going to get 25 years.”‘
Delca described her brother, who was killed just before his 53rd birthday, as caring and nonjudgmental.
She said that he lived with her because of their tight-knit bond. Delca added that Kaster taught her autistic daughter how to tie her shoes and was heavily involved in his niece and nephews’ lives.
Kaster’s dog, Max, was his world. The pet waited by the door for days after he was killed, Delca said emotionally.
‘He had a life that mattered immensely,’ she added. ‘I can’t let my brother go silently.’
The Daily Mail has reached out to police for further comment.
