Christy Schilling entered the courtroom smiling and happy to see her family, but gave a solemn apology during the sentencing phase of her trial Dec. 31.
Schilling was sentenced to 90 months in prison for stabbing her ex-husband, Eric Dewitt, at about 7 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 13, 2008, at 30626 135th Ave., Sebeka. The incident escalated from an argument during a child exchange for court-ordered visitation.
"I would like to see her get the maximum not for what I went through, but for what the kids went through," Dewitt said on the stand, asking the court to sentence Schilling to the maximum 103 months for the two assault charges a Wadena County jury founder her guilty of Nov. 3.
Eric's wife, Dallas Dewitt, also took the stand, and talked about how hard it has been for the kids to deal with the gruesome scene they witnessed.
"I was there," Dallas said. "My children were there and we couldn't do anything to stop it."
ADVERTISEMENT
Eric Dewitt was rushed to the hospital and had to be resuscitated at one point.
Schilling's attorney, Chuck Halverson, asked for leniency in sentencing, and Schilling offered apologies.
"This should never have happened," she said. "I'm sorry for a lot of what happened that day. I wish I could take it back. I don't believe Eric deserved what he went through."
She said she was sorry for exposing the kids to the violence.
"There's been a lot of pain for my kids," Schilling said. "But they need their mother as much as I need them."
Halverson asked Judge Jay Carlson to "go on the low end of the grid," or sentence Schilling to only 74 months. He said Schilling isn't a threat to the general public, had no criminal history, and suffers from bipolar disorder, which impacted her ability to mount a defense in the jury trial.
But Wadena County prosecutor Kyra Ladd argued for a tougher sentence, saying the kids had suffered collateral damage from the attack.
"They wouldn't have had to go through any of this in the first place if she hadn't done what she did," Ladd said.
ADVERTISEMENT
Carlson handed down the 90 month sentence, 30 months of which can be on supervised release, and ordered restitution of roughly $800 and credit for 354 days already spent in jail by the sentencing date.
"The court does have some concern for the viciousness of the attack and the impact on the children," Carlson said.
Dallas Dewitt had said on the stand earlier that day that more than anything, the kids wanted closure on the case.
"They didn't care what Santa brought," she said. "I want this to be over."
