Relatives of murder defendant David J. Janisch warned in court Thursday that he will try to kill them when he's released from prison. They asked Judge Gary Schurrer for the maximum 30-year sentence.
"The fears are real. He is evil, he has crossed the line," said Jeff Janisch, whose brother Greg Janisch died after David, his only son, thrust a 6-inch butcher knife into his heart at their Stillwater home in October.
In the end, after more than an hour of tearful victim statements in Washington County District Court, it didn't happen as relatives had hoped. Concluding that David Janisch's bipolar disorder contributed somewhat to the murder, the judge sentenced him to 17 years in prison followed by eight years of supervised release.
"Our concern is David Janisch is somebody who's going to continue to threaten his family," said Sue Harris, chief of the criminal division in the Washington County attorney's office.
David Janisch, 30, pleaded guilty to second-degree intentional murder. Before sentencing he apologized to his family for what he had done. He said he was making no excuses for "moral deficiencies of which I'm guilty of," and said he loved his father.
"Both of my parents did everything they could for me to live a happy and productive life despite my illness," he said, sometimes sobbing through his prepared statement. "I'm guilty of losing hope. My father never lost hope of me, not once."
Many observers in the packed courtroom wept as family members described how the crime made them fearful that David Janisch would strike again.
Jeff Janisch said that his 57-year-old brother had been ambushed and bled to death while David Janisch watched. David Janisch also had attacked his father earlier, choking him and breaking his collarbone, Jeff Janisch told the judge.
Janisch warned that nobody should be fooled by his nephew's remorseful demeanor. David Janisch, he said, has an intelligent, conniving mind and misleads people into believing he's not dangerous.
Schurrer said the sentence fell within state sentencing guidelines. He gave Janisch credit for 216 days spent in jail. Janisch will begin his sentence at St. Cloud prison.
Kevin Giles • 612-673-4432
