Kash’s Father Urges Public To Stop Hate Toward Sister Charged In Her Death

Kash’s father urged people to stop directing hate at the sister charged in her death as his family mourned the reality star.

Mack Paige Jr. spoke with KRON4 about losing his daughter, Mackayla “Kash” Paige. He asked for compassion toward her sister, Vernika Dunbar, while pushing back on strangers turning the family’s loss into social media content.

The appeal came after Dunbar was charged with involuntary manslaughter. Oakland police alleged that the 38-year-old tried to strike another woman with a gun during a fight involving Kash, but the weapon fired and hit her sister.

Dunbar also faced assault with a firearm and gun charges. Police said the assault charge concerned the alleged attempt to hit the other woman with the gun.

Officers responded near 14th and Harrison streets in downtown Oakland around 1:30 a.m. October 11. They tried to save the 29-year-old’s life before she was taken to a hospital, where she died. Police had not explained what started the confrontation in their account of the charges.

Paige also described plans his daughter had been making beyond the reality-TV spotlight. He said Kash wanted a break and hoped to pursue work as a makeup artist. His account added to what relatives had shared about her hopes before her death.

At a memorial, her cousin Azima King told ABC7 that Kash had wanted to change her life.

“She just wanted better for her life. And she wanted to be better. And she wanted to change,” King said.

Kash had built a following through Now That’s TV, which confirmed her death and shared a tribute. But her father said the attention that followed her screen persona had also brought threats in public. He objected to people discussing the fatal encounter as though they knew what happened when they had not been there.

Dr. Donnetrice Allison, a Stockton University researcher who studies Black women on reality TV, told ABC7 that she worried about the pressure to turn physical clashes into entertainment and chase attention online.

Paige said the family appreciated the support coming its way, while asking for privacy and patience from people expecting a response as they mourned.