Judge: 70 years for homeowner who 'hunted' intruder

USAToday

A Montana homeowner was sentenced Thursday to 70 years in prison for the shotgun slaying of a German exchange student he found trespassing in his garage late one night last spring.

Markus Kaarma, 30, of Missoula, won't be eligible for parole for at least 20 years. A jury in December found him guilty of deliberate homicide in the April 27 shooting death of 17-year-old Diren Dede, of Hamburg, Germany.

Jurors rejected Kaarma's argument that he shot in self-defense under the so-called Castle doctrine because his home had been burglarized previously. Dede was unarmed, and three witnesses testified at the trial that Kaarma had spoken about shooting someone.

In handing down the stiff sentence, District Judge Ed McLean said Kaarma went beyond safeguarding his home when he fired his pump-action shotgun four times, hitting the intruder in the head with the final blast.

"You didn't protect your residence, you went hunting," McLean said. "And here you have a 12-gauge shotgun that's loaded. Not to protect your family but to go after somebody."

"You are angry at the world and it's evident in your behavior," the judge added.

He dismissed Kaarma's claim he suffered from "anxiety" and an "anti-social disorder," saying it "doesn't excuse the anguish you have caused."

"You pose too great a risk to society to be anywhere else but the Montana State Prison. Good luck to you, son," McLean said.

"I'm sorry my actions caused the death of Mr. Dede," Kaarma told the judge before learning his fate.

Dede's father, Celal, traveled from Germany for the sentencing.

"It is justice," he said. "I am not happy. My son is dead."

Kaarma had reported his home had been burglarized about a week before the April 27 encounter in his darkened garage. Prosecutors said Dede and a friend were out walking after midnight. He slipped away, apparently looking for alcohol when he entered through a partially open garage door, tripping a motion sensor.

Prosecutors said Kaarma and his live-in girlfriend, Janelle Pflager, had left the garage door open with a purse inside to catch the next intruder.

She testified she has received death threats against their 19-month-old son, and called Kaarma the "single-most misunderstood person I have ever met."

"He didn't want to kill anyone," said Pflager, a detective. "He only wanted to make sure he and myself and son were alive at the end."

Kaarma's mother, Chong, pleaded for leniency for the sake of her grandson, and apologized to Dede's father.

"Why did you wait? Too late," he replied.

Kaarma faced between 10 and 100 years behind bars. A police detective testified at Thursday's sentencing that in jail, Kaarma "relished the notoriety of being a murderer," The Missoulian reported.

Police were monitoring his jail communications. In a late-December conversation, "he referred to himself as an American hero, but said he wasn't being treated as a hero," said Det. Guy Baker.

Contributing: Associated Press