SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — A Sioux Falls teen has been sentenced to spend 20 years in prison for fatally shooting his father and injuring his father’s girlfriend.
Minnehaha County Judge Susan Sabers on Monday gave 17-year-old Matthew Wittrock 30 years with 10 years suspended for first-degree manslaughter and 15 years suspended for aggravated assault.
Wittrock earlier pleaded guilty to the charges in an agreement with prosecutors.
Sabers acknowledged that Wittrock had some mental health issues, but said she saw no reason for the attack.
“The fact there was no defined trigger I do think makes you a danger to the community,” Sabers told Wittrock.
According to a criminal complaint, on May 5, 2020, Wittrock, who was 15 at the time, armed himself and waited for his father and Teri Handel to return home, then shot 42-year-old Craig Wittrock and Handel as she tried to offer help. Wittrock then beat Handel in the head with the gun and held her hostage as she pleaded with him to get help for his father, the complaint said.
Wittrock addressed the court and said he has grown a lot since being held at the Juvenile Detention Center. He said one of his goals for the future was to contact his mother, who had left nine years ago, and establish a relationship with her.
Sabers questioned that goal, saying the woman didn’t’ deserve to have a relationship with her son and said she found it strange he wanted to contact her.