Father Of Brutally Murdered Teen Sentenced to Prison for Failing to Pay for Fatal Car Accident

The father of 15-year-old Achazia James, who was found dead with multiple chop wounds and a severed hand on Runway Beach in August 2024, has been sentenced to 24 months in prison for defaulting on court payments related to a fatal traffic incident.

Claude Steadroy James broke down in tears yesterday as he told Justice Tunde Bakre that his daughter’s brutal murder had created overwhelming hardships that prevented him from meeting financial obligations stemming from his own criminal conviction.

The imprisoned father had been ordered to pay $15,000 in compensation to the family of Elba Perez, a Hispanic woman in her 60s whom he killed in a vehicle collision on Joseph Lane on the night of April 13, 2021. He was also required to pay a $4,000 fine following his June 2024 conviction for causing death by dangerous driving.

Perez sustained catastrophic injuries in the crash, including severe facial lacerations with profuse bleeding, bilateral rib fractures, brain bleeding, and eye trauma that left her with impaired vision in one eye and complete lack of response in the other. She died from the extensive trauma caused by James’s vehicle.

When James appeared in court yesterday for failing to make the required payments within the specified timeframes, he detailed his unsuccessful attempts to comply with the court’s orders. He described making multiple visits to the High Court seeking assistance with payment processing, contacting his lawyer who refused help without payment, and requesting extensions through proper channels.

James also mentioned the devastating impact of his teenage daughter’s murder, which occurred just two months after his conviction. Achazia James was discovered on Runway Beach having suffered multiple chop wounds, with one of her hands completely severed in what appeared to be a particularly violent killing.

Despite the father’s emotional testimony about how his daughter’s death had compounded his difficulties, Justice Bakre imposed the alternative sentence that had been established at the time of James’s original sentencing, committing him to serve the full 24-month prison term for his failure to meet the court-mandated payments.