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Killing His Mom Nets Life Term

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By TODD LESKANIC

tleskanic@tampatrib.com

Published: January 24, 2009

NEW PORT RICHEY - Janet Crouse didn't leave the courtroom until a heavy metal door slammed behind her nephew Ryan Young.

Then she turned to her husband.

"No emotion," she said. "Nothing."

The scene unfolded minutes after Young learned Friday afternoon he had been found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. His victim was his mother, 52-year-old Donna Young, who was Crouse's older sister.

"He's got a black hole where the rest of us have a beating heart," Crouse said of her nephew.
Donna Young died in her bed April 17, 2007. Investigators arrested her son the next day and charged him with premeditated murder.

During the four-day trial, Assistant State Attorney Mike Halkitis argued that Young, 26, went to his mother's house about 2 a.m. to kill her. He entered her bedroom as she slept and suffocated her with a pillow, then opened drawers and cut a window screen to stage a break-in.

An associate medical examiner testified it would have taken at least three minutes for Donna Young to die, although she probably was unconscious after 10 seconds.

Halkitis presented the theory that Young killed his mother out of financial desperation and because she didn't accept his homosexuality.

Testimony showed Young had lost his job at Michaels arts and crafts store and had been unemployed for months before starting work as a convenience store clerk. His truck had been repossessed and he was forced to move in with a friend because he could not afford rent.

That friend, Shelagh Ricardo, was perhaps the one point of hope for the defense. She gave Young an alibi, testifying he was home with her at the time of the crime. The state countered Ricardo's testimony with a surveillance video that showed a car similar to Young's parking near his mother's home at 2:06 a.m.

The video showed an unidentifiable figure getting out of the car and walking toward Donna Young's house. About an hour later, the figure is shown returning to the car at a quick pace and driving away.

In his closing argument Friday morning, Halkitis said Donna Young had written checks to her son for thousands of dollars in the months leading up to her death. The final entry in her checkbook showed a negative amount.

"Right before she dies, she has a minus $52," Halkitis said, paging through Donna Young's checkbook. "He has taken everything from poor Donna Young. Daddy Warbucks has no more money, but that doesn't quench his thirst."

Ryan Young had separated from his wife in September 2006 and informed her he was gay a short time later. The couple had been married less than a year. A devout Catholic, Donna Young was disappointed over her son's failed marriage and his sexual orientation.

Testimony showed Ryan Young knew he was the sole beneficiary of his mother's estate, the main asset of which was her Hathaway Drive house. He also knew a life insurance policy would pay off the house if she died.

Reporter Todd Leskanic can be reached at (727) 815-1084.

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