Brother With Pickaxe Gets Life for Killing Wheelchair-Bound Teen

Clear Facts

• Zuberi Sharp, 26, sentenced to 15 years to life for killing his 15-year-old half-brother Zayde with a pickaxe in December 2024
• Victim had cerebral palsy and used a wheelchair, attacked in backyard shed in Newbury Park, California
• Sharp fled to nearby high school after attack, found acting erratically on football field, no clear motive established

A California man will spend 15 years to life behind bars after admitting he used a pickaxe to murder his disabled teenage half-brother. The case has drawn attention to the vulnerability of those with special needs and the failure to protect them even within their own homes.

Zuberi Sharp, 26, was sentenced Tuesday after pleading guilty in March to second-degree murder in the death of 15-year-old Zayde, according to the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office. The victim suffered from cerebral palsy and was confined to a wheelchair.

Sharp admitted to multiple aggravating factors, including inflicting great bodily injury, using a deadly weapon, and targeting a vulnerable victim. These admissions underscore the deliberate nature of the attack and the defenseless position of the teenage boy.

On December 5, 2024, deputies responded to a residence on the 400 block of Jeanne Court in Newbury Park shortly after 8 p.m. Zayde’s mother had called 911 to report her son had been struck in the head with an object.

The mother told authorities that Sharp had attacked Zayde with a pickaxe inside a backyard shed. The victim’s uncle heard a loud thud and rushed to investigate, finding Sharp standing over the teenager while holding the pickaxe.

First responders transported Zayde to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead shortly after arrival. The brutal nature of the attack left the family devastated and seeking answers.

Sharp fled the scene immediately after the attack. Deputies located him at Newbury Park High School, where he was found acting erratically on the football field. Student-athletes were present on the field at the time, forcing school officials to implement a lockdown as law enforcement took Sharp into custody.

“This sentence reflects the seriousness of a violent and senseless act against a vulnerable victim,” Senior Deputy District Attorney David Russell said in a press release.

“While nothing can undo this loss, it ensures the defendant is held accountable and that the victim’s family has been spared the trauma of a trial.”

Authorities never established a clear motive for the attack. Family members told local media they believed Sharp was experiencing a manic episode at the time of the killing, though this has not been officially confirmed by investigators.

“It’s hard,” Zayde’s mother said at a ceremony honoring her son.

“It’s been really hard. Pain every day.”

The case carries additional tragic weight due to Sharp’s family history. His father, Calvin Sharp, is serving life in prison for killing a 6-year-old boy with a meat cleaver in 2007. The elder Sharp pleaded guilty to that murder and remains incarcerated.

The sentencing brings some measure of closure to a family torn apart by violence. The 15-years-to-life term means Sharp will face a parole board before potential release, though the severity of the crime and vulnerability of the victim will weigh heavily in any such consideration.

The Ventura County District Attorney’s Office emphasized that the plea agreement spared the family the trauma of reliving the tragedy during a trial. For a mother who has already endured unimaginable loss, avoiding courtroom testimony provided a small mercy in an otherwise devastating situation.

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