Family Seeks To Lay Long Island Mom, 'A Beautiful Queen,' To Rest

LONG ISLAND, NY — Long Island mom of three Cheray Jenkins was the kind of person who would have given the clothes off of her back to help someone in need of them.

The compassionate soul, who worked as a nurse's aide caring for the elderly and disabled, would not have hurt a fly.

She was described by her family as regal in the way she carried herself, and her death the day after Valentine's Day has left them reeling from shock.

She was a "queen" among women.

They never could have imagined her meeting the end that she did.

The last time Jenkins' daughter, Jakara "Kara" Canty, 19, spoke with her was on Jan. 30.

She had been asking for something that she needed and the teen couldn't find it, so Jenkins said she would figure the situation out.

"The last thing that I said to her was I loved her," Canty recalled in a phone interview with Patch.

Jenkins, 41, was staying with a friend in Mastic Beach when her family says that her ex-boyfriend, from whom she was estranged — and who has been charged with intentional murder — beat her on Feb. 12 so severely that she never regained consciousness when brought to Long Island Community Hospital in East Patchogue for treatment.

In one of her last moments, the swelling from the savage beating began to go down, and with that, a single tear dropped from her eye, running down the side of her face.

The teardrop gave her loved ones a little ray of hope that her battered body, lying trapped in the prison of her injuries, would somehow be released.

Jakara and her father, Derrick Canty, hugged through their own tears.

The single tear changed the perspective of Jenkins' deeply religious family, as they kept vigil, their lips twisted in prayer while whispering at her bedside — that it would change the outcome of her fate.

Perhaps it was a sign from God that she would come out on the other side okay.

But as the hours went on, it became more apparent that her release would not be the fervent desire guided by their prayers.

Once Jenkins was declared brain dead after testing by staff, her family had to make the heartbreaking decision to have her transferred to NYU-Langone in New York City and removed from life support so that her organs could be harvested to help others in need.

LiveOnNY, which facilitated the donation of Jenkins' organs, called her a hero.

In a statement, the agency's President and Chief Executive Officer Leonard Achan called her death tragic.

"Her family, in an extraordinary act of generosity, chose to offer the gift of life to those in need," he said.

Her four "gifts of life" included her heart, liver, and both kidneys, which will help four people between the ages of 30 and 70 years old in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, according to Achan.

Jenkins' family is struggling to pay for her final farewell.

There was no insurance policy in place at the time of her death, so they are in the process of raising money to help with the cost.

So far, they have raised $2,385 of their $15,000 goal on GoFundMe to help with her funeral expenses.

Canty said that before her mother's death, she would help the elderly and disabled by feeding them and doing light housework and chores.

Jenkins was "a very lively person" with a big, kind heart, and she was of a happy spirit.

She tried to help others the best way that she could do, even though she had her own ups and downs. She was the type of person that if she saw someone down, she would help out the best way she could.

"She would put her own feelings aside and help the next person, or put her own pain or troubles aside to help the next person," she said.

It is that same quality that endeared Jenkins to her ex-husband, Derrick Canty, who remained friends with her after their divorce.

Her "really horrible" slaying was that of "a sweetheart" who loved her family.

News of Jenkins' beating spread quickly on social media, with neighbors frantically praying for her survival.

Suffolk police initially declined to name Jenkins or delve too deeply into her beating, only describing it as a "domestic incident" in which a 41-year-old woman was seriously injured on Moriches Drive in Mastic Beach on Feb. 12, and saying that she was later taken to a local hospital.

Duntrell Thomas, 30, was arrested and charged with second-degree assault, a police spokeswoman later said.

Some wondered why there was little news coverage of the event.

When asked why the police department's Public Information Bureau did not send out a news release detailing the beating, a spokeswoman said it was because the incident was domestic in nature.

Thomas was first arrested on Feb. 13, then pleaded not guilty and a temporary order of protection was issued during his arraignment in First District Court in Central Islip, online court records show.

His bail was set at $500,000, $1 million insured bond, or $5 million partially secured surety bond, according to the records.

Duntrell did not post bail and has been housed at the Suffolk County Correctional Facility since his arrest, a spokeswoman for the sheriff's office said. He was later indicted on second-degree murder charges.

Prosecutors say that at around 6:20 p.m. on Feb. 12, Thomas "flew into a jealous rage," accusing Jenkins of having romantic ties with a man who lived in the Mastic Beach home where he and the victim were also temporarily living.

On the day of the attack, Thomas banged on the front door of the home, and when the other man
opened the door, Thomas went inside the house and saw Jenkins lying on the couch, prosecutors said, adding that Thomas accused the man and Jenkins of being together and threatened to shoot him.

Thomas then began to violently punch Jenkins in the face and head while she lay on the couch as she pleaded with him to stop, but then he pulled Jenkins off the couch, causing her to land on the hardwood floor, and once there, continued to punch her in the face before stomping on her face with his foot, according to prosecutors.

The man called 911, and when Suffolk police responded, they found Jenkins unresponsive and unconscious, lying in what appeared to be her blood, and Thomas was arrested at the scene, prosecutors said.

In a news release, District Attorney Ray Tierney said the indictment alleges Thomas "committed a brutal and deliberate act of violence against the victim, his domestic partner."

"Domestic violence cases represent some of the most disturbing crimes we prosecute," he said. "Our office is committed to seeking justice for the victim and her family through the legal process and holding those who commit such violent acts fully accountable."

Thomas pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Wednesday in Suffolk County Criminal Court in Riverside to upgraded charges that not only included intentional murder, but also assault with the intent to cause serious physical injury, a felony, and harassment, a misdemeanor, in connection with the Feb. 12 incident, court records show.

His attorney, Keith O'Halloran of Westhampton Beach, told Patch he was just assigned the case and had not had time to review discovery and declined to comment.

Derrick Canty said he can not fathom what happened to Jenkins.

"I can't believe that somebody would do her like that," he said.

When the pair first met, he was going through a bad time in his life and wanted to end it, but Jenkins pulled him back into the light, he said; they were like the star-crossed Shakespearean lovers, "Romeo and Juliet."

"She was my heart and world," he said. "I miss her."

The two had recently reconnected, and he had prayed that she would have been able to stay, for him and their three children.

"It's real heartbreaking, like now, my best friend is gone," Canty said, his voice breaking with emotion.

"She is the last person that you'd ever think something like that would happen to," he said. "It's crazy. I just can't believe it."

Jenkins didn't deserve to go, he said.

"She was a blessing to being her kids and a lot of friends," he said. "I know she had a lot of love. A lot of people loved her, and she definitely gonna be missed a lot."

He added, "It hurts so bad."

To him, she was a beautiful queen.

Jakara Canty said her mother's wishes were to be with her grandmother, and they are hoping to have her cremated.

She does not believe that Valentine's Day will ever be the same for her.

"I was never expecting for it to be Valentine's Day at all," she said. "I guess God kind of showed us what Valentine's Day really is about."

It's not a day entirely about romantic love between a boyfriend, girlfriend, or in a marriage relationship.

"It's about family, as well," she said. "And we kind of really got to see that, and we were with her at the hospital."