JANESVILLE 鈥 Logan Barclay sat with his head lowered in a Rock County courtroom Tuesday as he received a life sentence for the murder of his pregnant ex-girlfriend and mother of their young son.
Barclay
Barclay, 23, was sentenced Tuesday by Rock County Circuit Judge Jeffrey Kuglitsch on a charge of first-degree intentional homicide, as domestic abuse. He鈥檒l be eligible for parole in 50 years in the murder of Kiersten Hansen, who was 22. By then, Barclay will be 73 鈥渋f still alive,鈥 Kuglitsch said.
During Tuesday鈥檚 sentencing hearing, Hansen鈥檚 family offered impact statements and prosecuting attorney Jason Sanders presented visuals and video evidence from interviews, to support their case for life in prison without parole.
Kuglitsch ultimately gave Barclay life in prison with the possibility of parole in 50 years. Barclay was also ordered to pay a $5,000 fine, to go into a crime victim compensation fund.
Allowed to make a statement, Barclay said 鈥淚鈥檇 like to apologize to the family and all the other people affected by my actions. I鈥檓 sorry. That鈥檚 all.鈥
Displayed on courtroom TV screens during the sentencing hearing were photos of Hansen with her fingers in a 鈥渞ock on鈥 sign, wearing a band t-shirt, as well as a photo of her holding up her diploma after graduating from high school.
Both Hansen鈥檚 mother and twin brother gave impact statements.
Kiersten Hansen鈥檚 mother, Karen Hansen, spoke with an even tone, expressing longing for her deceased daughter, as well as grief, betrayal, and a lack of forgiveness.
鈥淨uite frankly I do not care what you have to say, because I know you are not sorry 鈥 you are sorry you got caught,鈥 Karen Hansen said, addressing Barclay.
鈥淚 hope you spend the rest of your time left here on this planet wasting away in misery, every day of your directionless, pathetic life,鈥 she added, closing with 鈥渞ot in hell,鈥 before returning to her seat and thanking Sanders.
Andrew Hansen, Kiersten Hansen鈥檚 twin brother, said that 鈥渙ver the past year I鈥檝e had to come to terms with the fact that the sister, that I have been with since birth, is gone. I have to move through life knowing that her story was cut short, and my future children will never know their aunt.鈥
His voice wavered after 鈥渁unt鈥 but he pressed on, noting that he will never get to see who she would have become.
鈥淗owever, my grief does not compare to the loving parents who had to lay their daughter to rest, to a lady whose life was cut short as she was just starting out, to the life who was cut down before they had a chance, and to the boy who will grow up 鈥 never knowing his parents.鈥
Sanders shared video clips from police interviews with Barclay, in which Barclay told detectives he used fear as a way of getting what he wanted in his relationship with Hansen.
鈥淚鈥檝e never tried to scare her with anything that big before, it鈥檚 worked a lot actually. Never physical, but the idea of it is usually enough,鈥 he said in the clip.
Evidence from police reports, texts and video clips also showed Barclay had set up an alibi through friends and planned Hansen鈥檚 murder 鈥渄own to the T,鈥 Sanders said.
鈥淲hat Logan Barclay did is utterly, morally, reprehensible,鈥 Sanders said. 鈥淭hanks to him, Kiersten didn鈥檛 just come into the world with company, she left with it, too.鈥
Barclay鈥檚 lawyer, Attorney Melissa Frost, argued in his defense, seeking assurance of a release date, telling the judge that Barclay has no prior criminal record, has previous trauma from his brother鈥檚 murder, and has trouble controlling his emotions.
Barclay鈥檚 brother, Pfc. Ethan Barclay-Weberpal, was serving in the United States Marine Corps and stationed at the School of Infantry at Camp Pendleton, Calif., in 2018. His friend and fellow service member fatally stabbed him while playing with a knife as they sat in the bleachers in formation, according to a Gazette article at the time.
Frost said Barclay accepted his responsibility for Hansen鈥檚 death.
鈥淗e took responsibility for the sole thing he was charged with,鈥 Frost said. 鈥淭here was no mitigation and no offer made to 鈥榳ell we鈥檒l ask for something less or we鈥檒l agree to an out date.鈥 This is it. We talked about it for probably less than 30 minutes.鈥
Frost said Barclay asked what the trial would look like, and when she explained that it would require bringing people in his life to stand before the court, he said 鈥溾榥o, we鈥檙e not doing that. I鈥檒l plead.鈥欌
She said he understood the stakes of potential life in prison. 鈥淭hat shows something about his character and says something about the fact that he can think outside the extent of his own situation,鈥 she said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 interesting, Ms. Frost, you indicated he was good at engineering,鈥 Kuglitsch said in response. 鈥淚t kind of fits into Mr. Sanders鈥 argument that he engineered this plan. When questioned and talked to about it he lies, and he lies again, and he continues to lie as the detectives push him finally into telling what happened.鈥
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