Belch receives jail time
Terri Lynn Gresko’s family clings to the memories they have of her, and said her death has left them with the void of knowing they will have no new memories of the smiling, happy woman they all loved so dearly. But they will have the solace of knowing that the man responsible for her death, and that of her friend, Thomas Myers, will likely spend the rest of his life in prison.
Edward Belch, convicted of two counts of third-degree murder last week in Fayette County Court of running down Gresko, 44, of Edenborn and Myers, 54, of Masontown on Route 21 in German Township on May 10, 2005, was sentenced to consecutive terms of 20 to 40 years in prison for their deaths. Belch, 46, of McClellandtown will likely serve 80 percent of the 80-year maximum sentence before he is released from state custody.
Three of Gresko’s six children, and her sister, Tammy Croftcheck, offered testimony at the sentencing hearing on Wednesday.
“My mother was a very generous person who would have given her life for any of us,” Regina Gresko, the fourth of Gresko’s children, said.
The 20-year-old said she has a tattoo of her mother’s name, surrounded by angel wings, and said she considers her mother’s presence like that of an angel.
“(Angels) are here, and in a flash, they’re gone,” she said, fighting back tears.
She said she misses her mother’s distinctive laugh, morning notes, shopping trips, hearing her yell “Regina Lynn” from the bottom of the steps and going for Chinese buffet.
With her mother’s death, Regina Gresko said she lost her carefree attitude and is aware that there are whispers when she leaves a room.
“I’m known as the girl whose mother was brutally murdered,” she said.
Regina Gresko said her mother used to keep a jar in their home, contributing a penny to it each time she thought of her own deceased father. Now, she said a similar jar exists for her mother. It reads, “Collecting all pennies that are sent from mom,” she said.
Gresko said she prays nightly to her mother.
“I know heaven is not blind to my pain, and I hope one day to feel her irreplaceable embrace,” she said.
Gianna Gresko, 25, and the oldest child, said she has accepted a lot of responsibility with her mother’s death, including assuming legal guardianship of her youngest brother, T.J., who is 16.
“She knows how much she meant to us, and he took away all those memories we were planning on making,” Gresko said, crying.
When her mother died, Gresko said they were in the midst of a happy time – planning the family’s first wedding because she was engaged to be married. Gresko said she had just graduated with a master’s degree days before and the ceremony was the last time she saw her mother.
“She’s so sadly missed. Every single day, she’s thought of. Knowing what he did to her,” Gresko said, her voice breaking. “It’s just not right.”
Thomas “T.J.” Gresko said he left for school the morning of his mother’s death. He said he expected to see her when he got home from a day that included two field trips, so he left her with a “See you later.”
He came home to a house surrounded by cars, wondering if all the turmoil was really happening. He said he realized that his mother’s death was intentional – and then the family had to identify pictures of his mother at the coroner’s office. It was a harsh reality, he said.
“That’s how my mom died, lying on the road? Someone screaming at her when she was thrown from a motorcycle,” he said, crying.
According to testimony, Belch saw Gresko and Myers at Wal-Mart in South Union Township, followed them out of the store and then weaved around several cars on Route 21 until he caught up to them. He used his Dodge Ram truck to hit Myers’ Harley Davidson motorcycle at an estimated 70 mph.
Like his sisters, Gresko said he has felt the void of missed shopping trips, holidays and the day-to-day time spent with his mother.
“I miss the memories. I just miss her,” he said.
Croftcheck, Gresko’s only sister, and mother of her 8-year-old nephew, said she struggled to explain her sister’s death to her son.
She said that as a mother she feels the pain her son feels twofold.
“I tell him Aunt Terri is still here, she’s just in heaven now,” Croftcheck said.
And so nightly, her son prays to his aunt, asking her to come back. How, she asked, was she to explain to him that his aunt never would return?
After her son prays, Croftcheck said she offers another prayer for her own inner peace.
“You murdered and took away a wonderful human being,” Croftcheck said. “I hope you live every single day with the guilt of what you did to our entire family.”
Croftcheck said that no matter how her sister felt inside, she always was smiling, projecting happiness to others.
“A smile goes a long way. Shame on you, Ed Belch, for taking it away,” she said.
To Jeffrey Whiteko, who argued during his closing remarks that prosecutors just wanted to win, Croftcheck said there never would be a “victory” because her sister is dead.
“All we were looking for is some form of justice for the man who killed her,” Croftcheck said. “And the day Ed Belch leaves this earth is the day justice will be served.”
Croftcheck said her sister was “a wonderful, happy, giving person who always had a smile on her face.”
“Not only did Ed Belch kill my sister and her friend, he killed our entire family,” Croftcheck said, looking at Belch.
Before he imposed sentence, Judge John F. Wagner Jr. said that he spoke with jurors after they returned their verdict. He said they accepted the defense claim that Belch was voluntarily intoxicated, what they needed to believe to mitigate a first-degree murder verdict to a third-degree verdict.
Testimony indicated that Belch had a blood-alcohol level of .159 percent, and marijuana and a prescription anti-anxiety medication also were in his system.
“But that should not be an indication that your conduct was acceptable because your conduct was inexcusable,” Wagner told Belch, noting that he has three prior drunken driving arrests.
The jurist said Belch should have recognized he had a problem and had a responsibility to seek treatment.
Although jurors believed that the alcohol and drugs mitigated Belch’s level of guilt, Wagner said no one should make the mistake that drunken driving mitigates guilt.
“At least on my watch, that’s not the message that comes out of this case,” he said.
He called Belch’s actions on May 10, 2005, “purposeful and calculated” and said he saw no remorse in Belch’s demeanor during the trial.
Belch declined to speak at sentencing.
Belch testified that he hit Gresko and Myers as he was in a hurry to get to his home, and also said that he wanted to frighten or talk to the couple.
“None of that demonstrates to me that you had any second thoughts about what you did,” Wagner said.
Belch has 10 days to file any post-sentence motions.