Man sentenced to life in prison for Masaryktown killings

The man convicted in the 2006 slayings of an elderly Masaryktown couple was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences Wednesday.

Patrick and Evelyn DePalma were found dead in their Masaryktown home Oct. 29, 2006. They died from a total of 14 stab wounds.

Robert Jardin, 35, was the only man charged in the case. He was charged nearly two years after the killings. He was convicted more than two years after he was indicted.

"There are no winners here," said Kyle DePalma, the victim's grandson, after the sentencing. "Both sides have lost tremendously.

"There's been some ups and downs," he said of the lengthy investigation. "We're glad there's closure ... We still keep our grandparents alive in our hearts and our spirit."

The trial lasted eight days. After deliberating for nearly two full days, jurors convicted Jardin on all charges - two counts of first-degree murder and one count each of robbery, burglary of an occupied dwelling and grand theft.

Jardin faced the possibility of the death penalty, but jurors recommended life and Circuit Judge Jack Springstead opted not to wait to carry out the sentence.

"Although I'm disappointed, I certainly respect the jury's decision," said Assistant State Attorney Pete Magrino.

He had asked jurors to recommend a death sentence.

Jardin, who already has served 783 days in jail, is divorced and a father of three children.

His ex-wife was contacted over the phone late Wednesday, but she declined to comment other than to say he had spoken to his children over the phone the night he was convicted.

Emotional testimony from victims' grandchildren

For 23 years, Kyle DePalma thought of his grandparents' home as a haven.

It was where he and his two older sisters learned life lessons and received unconditional love.

They played games in the shade under the massive oak trees. They joked and laughed until tears streamed down their cheeks. They stuffed their stomachs with their grandmother's home-cooked meals.

Patrick and Evelyn DePalma worked hard and saved a lot to retire in Florida, own lots of property and be near their grandchildren. They were living their dream.

Today, their grandchildren can't go near the house at 333 Korbus Road without thinking about that fateful night. The family has since sold the property. They can't erase the memories of yellow police tape surrounding the 10-acres of property they once roamed.

They hate conjuring images of the savage way their grandparents were killed.

Kyle DePalma and his older sister, Sonsee Sanders, testified Wednesday during the sentencing portion of the trial.

Sanders read a prepared statement to jurors.

"We were so close," she said. "It was like having a second set of parents.

"They taught me values and how to treat others," Sanders continued. "They welcomed anyone into their home with open arms."

She said Patrick DePalma came from a poor family. He joined the military at a young age and served his country overseas. He saved money and "respected the value of a dollar," said Sanders.

He sacrificed for the chance to own a large piece of property so his family could live in one location, she said.

She described her grandmother as "the most unselfish person" she knew. She learned how to cook from Evelyn DePalma.

Today, she said, she's "devastated" her children will never meet their great-grandparents.

Sanders then read a prepared statement written by her sister, Sarah Barnier, who lives out of town.

Sanders started to cry.

"It's hard not to feel resentful," she read from her sister's letter. "We truly lost a gem in our lives ... I think that everyone can learn something from my grandparents. I wish they could have shared their lives with us for many more years."

At one point during Kyle DePalma's testimony, he stared directly at the man convicted of killing them.

He said his grandparents' deaths have dramatically changed his perspective.

"I always thought bad things wouldn't happen to good people," he said. "Now this makes me question my own safety and the safety of my own family ... This has affected so many people - their family, their church and the small community they lived in. They had to struggle in the last moments of their (lives). I just pray that justice will be served."

Jardin's childhood was filled with 'insidious abuse,' attorney says

Devon Sharkey, one of Jardin's defense attorneys, said he was raised by a mother who was "cold" and "uncaring."

He said she abused drugs while her son was still in her womb. He was born when she was 18 years old.

While an infant, the state took Jardin away from his mother, Sharkey said.

Four months later, they were reunited. They moved to New York.

"Soon after they arrived in New York, a lifelong pattern of insidious abuse began," Sharkey told jurors.

Jardin's mother, Janice Link, testified Wednesday.

An emotional Link discussed what life was like when the two lived together. She said she was strict on him. When Sharkey asked her whether she had gone to her son's football games, she said she didn't remember whether he played football.

After Link got off the stand, she whispered "I'm sorry" to her son.

Jardin had tears in his eyes. He shook his head and refused to look at his mother.

Peter Bursten, a clinical psychologist who evaluated Jardin, said the defendant suffers from an antisocial personality disorder.

He said he was in a "bad position emotionally," largely due to the abuse he endured while being raised by his mother.

Prosecutor Pete Magrino tried to diminish Bursten's diagnosis to the jurors.

He said "99 percent" of the convicts on death row have the same personality disorder as Jardin.