‘I miss my brother every day’: Those who love Blake Box-Skinner speak out at his killer’s sentencing hearing

The family of Blake Box-Skinner received some of the worst news anyone could receive in mid-January, 2017. Their son, brother, grandson and cousin had been murdered. As the investigation into his death continued, they discovered a man believed to be his best friend, who many others described as a “brother,” Joshuah Rainbolt, had pulled the trigger, shooting the young man they love in the head at point-blank range.

On Monday, they gathered in the courtroom to speak before Judge Larry Medlock during Rainbolt’s sentencing hearing.

Box-Skinner’s older sister, Samantha DuVall, said he was “one of the kindest souls I’ve met.” She said there were so many friends and family members, they couldn’t all fit in the funeral home for the service.

“Our memory of him will always be tainted with sadness,” she told Rainbolt. “That’s not OK. You took him from us. Whatever small slight was worthy of taking my brother’s life, you made yourself judge, jury and then executioner. We deserve an explanation and you haven’t decided we are worth even that. We also deserve as much peace as we can get. We deserve our brother back, but that’s something we’ll never have. He’ll never be able to walk through the door with that crooked little smile. I miss my brother every day.”

She asked Judge Larry Medlock to be tough when it came to sentencing and to take into account “all the sleepless nights and tears my mother and Blake’s father have shed every single day.”

“We deserve justice,” she said. “Blake deserves justice.”

Seth Harvey, Box-Skinner’s older brother, said the pain he felt was too difficult to write down.

“You’re a murderer and a thief,” he told Rainbolt. “You stole my brother.”

He lifted a pendant on a chain around his neck and showed the court a tattoo he got on his shoulder. “I shouldn’t be wearing memorial pieces of my younger brother,” he said. “I can’t sleep. It’s hard to do my job and I’m an entertainer. I wear a mask every day to hide my pain. I moved in with my mother and father to make sure they’re OK … I hope you suffer as much as my family has suffered and I’ll never forgive you.”

Luther Fleenor is Box-Skinner’s cousin.

“He had that crooked smile, mischievous,” he said. “He had a great deal of respect for me and in turn, I had great respect for him. … It’s hard. I have to go on.”

Fleenor said Box-Skinner had a “soft spot” for those he felt didn’t get a “fair shake” in life. He told of how attentive Box-Skinner was to Fleenor’s young daughter, who was in a special needs program at school.

“He was a representation of what I wish I could have been when I was his age,” he said. “… He was the best kind of philanthropist. He gave from the heart. Blake was very, very special and had a bright, bright future.”

Alice Ryker, Box-Skinner’s grandmother, said the way Box-Skinner was killed made the pain sting harder.

“I look at you and I see a monster,” she told Rainbolt. “You pretended to be my grandson’s friend … Parents aren’t supposed to bury their children. It would have been horrible if he had died in an accident or disease, but that’s not what happened. You took him in a despicable act … Carol and Derek [Box-Skinner’s parents] will never be the same and … you put images in my son, Jonathan’s, head he’ll never lose.”

She said she and her grandson were very close and spoke frequently, always ending conversations with “I love you.”

“I will never get to hear ‘I love you’ from him again,” she said. “After murdering him, you treated his body with absolutely no regard. You’re a coward and what you did confirms your murderous act. I can not fix their pain. I can’t fix this. Mothers want to fix things for their children and I can’t.”

She also acknowledged the pain Rainbolt’s family was enduring.

“This has touched your family, too,” she said. “I’m sure they love you, but they are embarrassed and ashamed of your actions.”

Selena Huizar, Box-Skinner’s girlfriend at the time of his death, was very quiet in her testimony and said this event took a toll on everyone.

“Blake was such a great guy,” she said. “He was a really nice person. When Blake died, it tore the county apart. He knew everyone and was nice to everyone. He didn’t deserve to die.”

She said she’s still grieving Box-Skinner’s death.

“He was my only friend,” she said. “I feel bad for everyone — his dad, mom, sister, brothers — I’m still tore up about it. I don’t know why you did it.”

Defense attorney Mark Clark questioned Huizar about a statement she made during the beginning of the investigation, where she told police that they didn’t even need to talk to Rainbolt because he wouldn’t have killed Box-Skinner.

“I stood up for him,” she said.

“You’ve hurt us so bad,” said Carol Box, Box-Skinner’s mother, staring hard at Rainbolt. “Now I get to look you in the face. I’ve been at every hearing and you’ve never looked at me.”

The moment she knew her son was dead changed her forever.

“My life as I knew it and lived it was over,” she said. “I still have to exist, but I feel like my soul is gone. Images of what Josh did play in my head every day. I have to face the realization that Blake isn’t going to come back home. His home is in an urn and a necklace I get to wear around my neck. I wear it every day to feel as close to him as possible.”

She said she had yet to see any real remorse for what happened that night.

“I remember when Josh stood before you,” she told Medlock. “There were no tears, no remorse, no shaky voice. When you asked him twice if he understood what he was pleading guilty to, he said, ‘yes, Judge,’ with no emotion. Today, I feel if there are any tears, they are only an act to garner leniency.”

She said Box-Skinner made his family better and they were better people with him in their lives.

“We’ve been given a life sentence without Blake,” she said. “I know that’s not possible for Josh, but I ask for the longest sentence you can give.”

Box-Skinner was Derek Skinner’s only son.

“He was a sweet kid,” he said. “What you did wrecked a lot of lives. I’d say you’re going to get what you deserve, but I don’t believe that. You deserve what you gave to Blake, but you won’t get that. Parents shouldn’t bury their child.”