This Is Just Sadness All Around
Bennett, a mother of three and Kernizan were a separated couple, who resided in Long Island, New York. Barkey was married and lived in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Kernizan had 16 prior arrests for offenses such as, "Robbery, assault, forgery, criminal possession of a weapon, and fraud."
Tracy Bennett and Captain Barkey
A jealous Kernizan also issued death threats against Barkey. These were all serious warning signs that Kernizan should have been placed behind bars, as his conduct constituted a string of felonies (aggravated stalking, criminal harassment and attempted murder, which could have resulted in vehicular homicide). He was criminally insane.
Joseph Kernizan
Kernizan followed Barkey and Bennett to a motel in New York and waited for them to leave at 3:10 AM, then opened fire in the parking lot, killing both and terrifying hotel guests who heard and saw the shooting unfold. After a warrant was issued for Kernizan's arrest, due to hotel surveillance footage showing him committing the crime, he fled to Miami, Florida, where police tracked him down at a friend's home.
The body of Tracy Bennett outside a New York motel
As the Judiciary Report has repeatedly stated, adultery is dangerous, as it breeds heartbreak, trouble and loss. However, no one should take matters into their own hands and take anyone else's life or their own. People should endeavor to make their marriages work, because that's God's will. However, it is not God's will for anyone to stalk, harass, assault or kill anyone.
STORY SOURCE
Suspect in Double Murder, Cornered by Police, Kills Self in Florida
Man being sought for murder of Captain Barkey has 16 prior arrests
Man who 'killed' estranged wife and lover outside hotel 'stalked' them for months
Hamilton’s grieving music partner, David “Wickerman’’ Taylor, tearfully recalled to The Post how his buddy would still see Bennett despite Kernizan’s threatening behavior. “It was August when he told me that this man in New York was following him,” Taylor said in an emotional interview from Jamaica. “Barkey said the man trailed him, he was stalking him. And he tried to run him down, off the road. He tried to sideswipe him. “I said, ‘You’ve got to be careful.’ I warned him, ‘You don’t know what this guy will do.’
“Barkey didn’t show me that he was afraid, but I’m sure he was worried. Every time he would go to New York, this man would find him,’’ Taylor said. “Barkey said, ‘How does this man always find me?’ We figured he had a tracking device on her. And he waited until Barkey and Tracy were together, until he had the two of them together in one place,” to attack, Taylor said. Taylor said that when he heard Hamilton and Bennett had been shot, he immediately thought of Kernizan. “That was Barkey’s only enemy,’’ Taylor said. “Barkey was a very nice guy, everyone loved him. He was not a troublemaker.’’...
