A Pittsburgh man was sentenced to state prison for killing a fellow election canvasser in Chester

From their home in Fresno, Calif., Della and Tyron Mister are equal parts sorrowful and angry over how the criminal prosecution of their son’s killer ended thousands of miles away.

Nathaniel Thurmond-Willis, 25, was sentenced to 7 to 14 years in state prison during a hearing last week in Delaware County. The sentencing, before County Court Judge Richard Cappelli, came a month after Thurmond-Willis, of Pittsburgh, pleaded guilty to third-degree murder and aggravated assault in a 2020 shooting that killed Kenny Mister, 31, and wounded another man, Najee Walker.

In handing down the sentence, the judge called the case “the craziest murder” he’d ever seen.

But Mister’s parents say the punishment he ordered doesn’t fit the crime. Their son, they said, was “executed” by Thurmond-Willis, who they say plotted with others that night to rob Mister, their boss, after getting into a disagreement over money.

“I want to take it further, and I don’t care if we have to go to the Supreme Court, because it was wrong the way they treated my son,” Tyron Mister said in an interview Monday. “This guy will be out in five years or less, but my son is gone forever.”

» READ MORE: Police arrest an election canvasser for killing a colleague in Chester

Mister, the oldest of eight siblings, was a doting father, according to his mother, Della. Aside from his work as a music promoter, he spent much of 2020 traveling throughout the country, working with a company that hired canvassers to speak with voters in battleground states ahead of the presidential election, including Pennsylvania.

In what she called a cruel twist of fate, her son had hired his killer as one of 75 workers to help with the canvassing.

On Oct. 27, 2020, during a trip to Chester, the men got into a dispute in the parking lot of the Days Inn where they were staying. Mister’s family says the argument started when Mister told Thurmond-Willis and the others they were fired, and they conspired to rob him.

During the struggle that followed, which was recorded on surveillance footage, Thurmond-Willis was seen holding a gun while Mister was seen fighting others in the group, according to the affidavit of probable cause for Thurmond-Willis’ arrest. Thurmond-Willis was knocked to the ground, after which he raised his gun and fired at Mister, the affidavit said.

Mister fled, and Thurmond-Willis chased him, continuing to fire and hitting him in the back. Mister later died from his injuries, and Walker was wounded, but later recovered.

Prosecutors, led by First Assistant District Attorney Tanner Rouse, asked the judge to sentence Thurmond-Willis to 20 to 40 years in prison. The circumstances of the shooting, Rouse said, warranted the penalty.

“I am all for trying to find creative, rehabilitative ways for people who have taken the wrong course and done something they regret,” Rouse said. “But a man is dead, and this cannot be tolerated.”

Thurmond-Willis’ attorney, James Wright, said his client thought his life was in danger that night at the Days Inn. He said he had heard Mister had a reputation for violence, and carried a gun with him whenever he traveled.

“It is an imperfect self-defense claim, but one of the things my client has tried to do to satisfy all the parties involved is take responsibility for his role in what had occurred,” Wright said, adding that the brawl and fatal shooting all happened “in a manner of seconds.”

Wright also noted that Thurmond-Willis surrendered to police in Pittsburgh not long after a warrant was issued for his arrest.

Thurmond-Willis apologized to Mister’s family, saying he understood their pain because he had lost relatives to murder. As his sister, daughter, and relatives looked on, Thurmond-Willis said “a lot of things that happened went left,” escalating to the shooting nearly two years ago.

“I know saying I’m sorry is not going to bring him back, and it’s not going to change the fact, but I hope this gives you some solace, knowing that justice was served,” he said.

But the victim’s mother said she found no solace in the outcome of the case.

“I didn’t feel like justice was served,” Della Mister said. “My son’s voice couldn’t be heard, so we spoke on his behalf. But It’s like we weren’t even there.”