Kaguyutan sentenced to life, no parole

Unless his appeal is upheld, Matthew Kaguyutan will never be a free man again.

Judge… Unless his appeal is upheld, Matthew Kaguyutan will never be a free man again.

Judge Lawrence O’Toole sentenced the former Pitt student, who was convicted of second-degree murder among other charges this summer, to life without parole in the Pittsburgh state correctional facility today, ending – for now – a trial process that took almost two years.

Kaguyutan was accused of stalking Carissa Probst, his ex-girlfriend, and setting fire to apartments she inhabited on two separate occasions. The second fire, on Sept. 29, 2000, killed Joseph Marcinek, another Pitt student.

The defendant, Probst and the loved ones of the deceased all expressed intense feelings to the court.

“He may not have taken my life, but he’s taken the life out of me,” said a tearful Probst, who described a gauntlet of psychological fallout and therapeutic expenses since the fatal fire.

Both of Marcinek’s parents, Peggy and Joseph, read statements to the court describing the past two years of their lives, beginning with Sept. 28, 2000, when she spoke with her son about a job fair he attended that day.

“I didn’t realize at the time that that would be the last time I ever heard his voice,” Marcinek’s mother said.

She told the court she has been reliving her son’s death for the duration of the trial, and that Kaguyutan was “mentally raping” her family every day of their lives.

“He will never be able to have his mom hold him or tell him how much I love him ever again,” she said of her son.

Joseph Marcinek, the father of the victim, had an angrier message for O’Toole.

“His family should have to suffer like we are suffering now,” he said.

He referred to Kaguyutan as “cowardly scum,” and, after the sentencing, said that he felt justice was not served.

“He should die the way my son died,” he said, “or just give him to me for five minutes.”

Kaguyutan was the only speaker for the defense, and he asked to address the court – more specifically the Marcinek family – directly.

“I am praying for you,” he told them, “that you may somehow come to peace and receive comfort.”

He said that even though he had been found guilty, he could not apologize for what he claimed he did not do.

“I speak with a clear conscience,” he said, “knowing that under the eyes of my god and knowing in my heart that I stand here an innocent man.”

He acknowledged he would receive a life sentence, but said, “God has the final say.” He also said that he felt “the same pain” that the Marcineks and Probsts felt.

Marcinek’s father called Kaguyutan’s statement “a joke.”

The prosecution also read letters by two companions of Marcinek to the court, his sister, Christina Marcinek, and his roommate, Justin Wagner.

“I live my life to make him proud,” Christina Marcinek’s letter said, before blaming Kaguyutan. “I do not understand how one person could ruin so much, but he did.”

Wagner wrote that although he was not injured in the fire, “the emotional scars are more severe than any injury [he] could have sustained.”

He too had harsh recommendations for Kaguyutan.

“In my opinion, Matt should be put away forever,” he said.

District Attorney Marc Clark said nothing more to the court, instead alluding to “dozens and dozens of letters” that had been sent to O’Toole on the people’s behalf.

Before issuing the sentence, O’Toole expressed condolences for Marcinek and his family.

“Here’s a young man who was doing everything you are supposed to do,” he said, pointing out that neither Kaguyutan nor Probst knew Marcinek, but that he had died because of their conflict.

“Any words seem like empty gestures,” O’Toole said.

O’Toole advised Kaguyutan to reflect on Marcinek for the rest of his life. He also spoke about “the conduct between [Kaguyutan] and Miss Probst” and their relationship, which he called “pointless, aimless and self-indulgent.”

“I’m not trying to minimize the pain, the angst, the tragedy of Miss Probst,” O’Toole said to Kaguyutan, “but although she said she had felt stalked, the jury did not feel that you were stalking her.”

In contrast to the distraught kin of the victim, Kaguyutan’s family appeared stoic, with only a moment of grief as the verdict was announced.

Kaguyutan winked at his family and mouthed, “I love you,” as he was escorted out.

In addition to the second-degree murder life sentence, Kaguyutan was sentenced to a total of between 27 1/2 and 55 years for burglary, arson and risking a catastrophe.

According to Mike Manko, spokesman for the District Attorney’s Office, the required sentence in Pennsylvania for second-degree murder is life without parole.

But defense attorney Gary Gerson said that his client will file an appeal based on what he called the coercion of Kaguyutan’s confession and physical evidence that Gerson said does not prove the fires were intentionally set.

“I think the verdict was against the weight of the evidence,” Gerson said.

– Staff writers Erik Arroyo and Matt Heller contributed to this report.