Herrington convicted of third-degree murder
Herbert Carl Herrington stared straight ahead Thursday as he learned that he’d been convicted of third-degree murder in the stabbing death of Charles Cramer. Herrington, 25, could face up to 40 years in prison for killing Cramer at a Nov. 16, 2001, party in Springhill Township. The men, according to testimony, were fighting over Herrington’s then-girlfriend, Melissa Masi.
The verdict brought tears to family members on both sides of the case, all of whom have been fixtures at the trial since its start on Monday.
“They might be crying, but they can visit their son in jail and get letters,” said Cramer’s mother, Mary. “All I have is the grave yard.”
During moments of the trial where testimony described the last moments of her son’s life and a medical expert testified about the fatal wounds to his left lung, Mary Cramer often cried, leaning on her family for physical and emotional support.
After the verdict was read, Cramer said her last memories of her son were shortly before the party the night he died. As they parted ways that evening, she said that her son kissed her and hugged her. “I’ll see you later,” he said.
Cramer said she could not have imagined that by night’s end, her son would be dead of a near-7-inch stab wound that prosecutors charge Herrington inflicted in the midst of a fight.
The guilty verdict, said Cramer’s sister, Charlene Fenton, will bring about peace for her brother, but it leaves with her family a whole that can’t be filled.
She described her 28-year-old brother as a jokester, who was likely joking around with Herrington about taking Masi out the night he was stabbed. The statements Cramer made about taking Masi out were the catalyst for three physical altercations between the two that evening.
“I hope one day they understand they took the life of someone very special,” said Fenton, who noted her heart went out the Herrington’s mother and sisters because they, too, have been affected by the events of Nov. 16.
Herrington’s mother, Linda Klink, likewise offered sympathies to Cramer’s family for their loss, but said the jury’s verdict was “a great injustice.”
Klink, along with her husband, Ted, and Herrington’s sisters, stood strong in their belief that it was someone else who inflicted the fatal wound.
Linda Klink also said that Herrington’s admission of guilt to state police in the hours after the stabbing came only after Masi told him she was pregnant – a fact not brought out in court testimony.
Jurors started their deliberations around 10 a.m. and returned around 1:30 p.m. to announce their verdict. In between, they asked Judge Steve P. Leskinen to again explain the different charges to them.
Defense attorney Mark F. Morrison told jurors in his closing remarks on Wednesday that it was Masi who brought the knife outside where the men were fighting. He suggested that she may have used it to stab Cramer as he was on top of Herrington during a fight.
While Masi acknowledged that she brought the knife outside, she testified that another guest at the party grabbed her and knocked the weapon from her hand then held her. When Cramer said he had been stabbed, Masi testified she was let go.
Linda Klink asked why Masi, who admittedly brought the knife outside, was not also charged in Cramer’s death.
District Attorney Nancy D. Vernon said that Masi was not charged because simply bringing the knife outside was not a crime. The chief prosecutor, who was assisted by First Administrative Assistant John A. Kopas III, said she was pleased with the result of the case.
“The verdict was well within the evidence presented,” said Vernon.
Morrison, who asked for an acquittal, disagreed.
To come back with a murder verdict, he said the four-woman, eight-man panel had to have ignored evidence presented by the defense. That evidence included a prosecution expert who said it may have been difficult for Herrington to stab Cramer if he were pinned to the ground, as Morrison presented in a hypothetical scenario.
With Herrington’s sentencing set for later this month, members of Herrington’s family are hoping to present letters and testimony to Leskinen in hopes he does not impose the maximum sentence. Morrison said that at minimum, according to his calculations, Herrington could be sentenced to as little as six years in prison.
Likewise, Fenton said she would represent the Cramer family and give a victim impact statement to explain how her brother’s death has changed the family.
At the maximum, Vernon said Herrington can be sentenced to 20 to 40 years in prison.
No matter the sentence, Fenton said she hopes Herrington can answer her one question:
“Does my brother come back in 20 years or 40 years?”
“(Herrington’s mother) gets to visit him and see him and receive phone calls. I take my 12-year-old and 10-year-old to the grave to see their uncle,” said Fenton.