By KATY BRANDENBURG

The Union Democrat

Judge Eric DuTemple sentenced Robert and Paul Slawinsky to 11 years in state prison Thursday for the April 6 killing of Carl Knight.

The sentencing was postponed from Monday upon discovery of a body in Don Pedro Reservoir last Friday. The body was identified as that of Edgar Delacruz, a 20-year-old Ceres man who disappeared from a house boat over the Memorial Day holiday. An autopsy was conducted Wednesday, and dental records were used to make the identification, according to Sheriff' Office Sgt. Jim Oliver.

The Slawinsky brothers were convicted of aggravated manslaughter, a step up from the plea bargain of manslaughter without malice reached July 1. The "aggravated" sentence, recommended by the probation department and prosecution, ensured that the brothers would get the maximum penalty for manslaughter, 11 years.

"The defendants indicate now that they are remorseful, but at the time of the initial interviews, they set up a story, which they convinced other people to tell that Carl left their home on his own accord and without injury," said Deputy District Attorney John Hanson. "That particular callousness and planning is particularly disturbing."

The brothers are not eligible for probation, and must serve 85 percent of their sentence — about nine years, before being eligible for parole. DuTemple ordered them to pay $2,200 restitution, and imposed another fine of $2,200 that will take effect if they do not successfully complete parole.

DuTemple allowed two of Carl Knight's family members to speak. His mother, Debra Knight, addressed the court first.

Knight read from a prepared statement about the impact Carl's death has had on her and the family. The Slawinsky brothers hung their heads, sometimes shaking them as if in disagreement when Knight described what she believes happened that night. When she talked about the choices they could have made, neither brother looked up. One wiped his eyes on the sleeve of his red jail uniform.

"By the Slawinsky brothers' own statements, they took Carl's pulse and he was breathing. At that point... he could have been saved by being taken to a hospital. Somebody at the house could have called 911," Knight read.

Erwin "Duke" Knight, Carl's uncle, made a similar statement, calling the brothers "sociopaths," and "heathens," and emphasizing that their "heinous" act came down to that same moment of choice.

"If they took him to a hospital and he didn't survive, that's manslaughter," he said. "But they chose to turn left and head out into the hills..."

Before pronouncing the sentence, DuTemple explained all the factors he took into consideration in a case he described as "very difficult" due to unreliable witnesses and attempts to cover up evidence.

Among the "mitigating factors" that appeared in various reports and versions of the story were that Carl Knight might have been under the influence of methamphetamine and/or alcohol when he went to the Slawinsky brothers' house, he might have been the instigator of the fight, and he might have been armed with metal weapons, DuTemple said.

"Unfortunately, the picture of what really happened that night is cloudy at best," he said. "The incident reported by the Slawinskys was so filtered to put them in the best light and changed so often ... unfortunately, we'll never know what really happened."

Despite any mitigating claims, DuTemple said the initial fight was one-on-one between Carl Knight and Paul Slawinsky, and did not involve any weapons. When Knight began to get the upper hand, Robert Slawinsky jumped into the fray with a bat and both brothers started beating him.

"When Carl Knight became incapacitated and unable to defend himself, the brutal beating continued," DuTemple said.

Robert hit Knight more than 15 times with the bat, while Paul used his elbows "to inflict even more damage, leaving the victim at an absolute inability to react or to help himself. ... Clearly, this is not a case of self-defense," the judge said.

The Slawinskys' efforts to eliminate the evidence would not be rewarded with leniency, DuTemple added, as he read the details of the sentence.

Outside the courtroom, the mood was somber, with emotions running high on both sides.

Samantha Bunch, Carl Knight's ex-wife and mother of his daughter, Lily, 3, appeared overwhelmed. She said she had just begun writing down her feelings about the situation.

"Lily's having a really hard time," Bunch said. "She always asks for her daddy. The other day, she said: ‘Mommy, I'm going to fly like a bird to heaven and rescue daddy.' "

Bunch paused, wiping away tears.

"I thought, as a mother, I could make it all better for her. But I realized I can't because I can't make it better for myself. Carl and I were divorced, but he was still very involved with Lily."

Bunch said she and Knight did not divorce over drugs or alcohol. When they first got together, Carl was using drugs, she said. But when Bunch found out she was pregnant with Lily, Knight went through a six-month Salvation Army rehab program and was clean for the next several years.

"When he came back, he was such a sweetheart. It all got better after we moved out of Jamestown," Bunch said.

In 2007, when Carl got laid off and the couple divorced, he moved back to Jamestown.

"I never understood why he hung out with them," she said, referring to the Slawinskys and Carl's other Jamestown friends.

Linda and Dylan Tilley, friends of the Slawinskys,' said Robert and Paul weren't bad people, but they had done a bad thing.

"It's just sad that all of us are sitting here broken-hearted. No matter what side you're on, it's a shame that it happened," Linda said.

Duke Knight is hoping the brothers will tell prosecutors where they hid Carl's body so the family can bury him. If not, he said, he is prepared to search abandoned mine shafts across the county. Soon after the killing, the brothers allegedly told others they had dumped Carl's body in an old mine.

"We need to get him back. I'm going to keep looking," Duke Knight said.

Debra Knight said she was pleased with DuTemple's decision. He was attentive and patient with the Knight family, she said, and saw through the brothers' stories.

"He didn't go for first-degree murder and the electric chair, like I would have wanted. But he did acknowledge that the fight that night was not fair," she said.

Contact Katy Brandenburg at kbrandenburg@uniondemocrat.com or 588-4526.