Confessed murderer gets 119 years

PALMER -- The Palmer man who confessed to killing a 65-year-old widow and then using her debit card to get cash for crack cocaine was sentenced to 119 years Friday, nearly 13 months after the crime took place.

William T. Horsey III, 53, was sentenced to the maximum of 20 years for robbery and 99 years for the murder of long-time area resident Jane Sasseen inside her home north of Palmer on April 2, 2002. Horsey was interviewed and arrested after troopers served search warrants at his home on Soapstone Road 10 days after the crime, on April 12. He reportedly first confessed to the killing in interviews with Alaska State Trooper investigators.

The court room was full but not crowded for the sentencing. Relatives of Sasseen spoke to the court about their loss, about Horsey's inability to repair that loss and about how contemptible his actions were.

Members of the Sasseen family passed tissues to one another during the sentencing proceedings, which began with brief arguments about whether or not Superior Court Judge Eric Smith should find that Horsey's conduct was "among the most serious" described in Alaska's laws regarding murder.

Smith made it clear that he was uncomfortable with the legal discussion taking place in front of the victim's family. Smith said that, because prosecutors had argued for a ruling that the killing was among the worst of first-degree murders, he was bound to make a decision on that point.

"It puts the court in a difficult position," Smith said. "All murders are aggravated. All murders are awful."

Smith said that other murders -- including the 1997 sniper-style killing of Carl Beery and Deborah Rehor near Chulitna for which Paul Stavenjord was convicted -- were among the most serious he had seen in his court. Horsey's crime wasn't in the same class, he said.

Smith said he was required to rule on the question in case Horsey decides to appeal his sentence at a later date. In addition to the Stavenjord case, Smith mentioned some of the gory details of the killing of Wesley Morton in 1998. Morton was beaten and stabbed to death by three men at Wonderland Park in Wasilla. Smith said Morton's killers repeatedly left the park and came back to assault Morton. In that case, someone carved initials into the victim's skin, according to Smith.

Smith said the law requires him to distinguish between the two types of crimes, "So that's what I have to do … I go through these gory details to provide context," Smith said while explaining his ruling. "I can't find that [Horsey's crime is] in the most serious category."

Under Alaska law, Smith was required to sentence Horsey within the range of 20 to 99 years. The law also specifies lists of mitigating and aggravating factors that attorneys can ask the judge to rule on for sentencing purposes. Heath did not ask Smith to rule on any mitigating factors and Horsey, when his turn came to speak, said the death penalty would be appropriate.

"I just can't find the words, but I am truly, truly sorry," Horsey said. "I will take no less punishment than the maximum. You don't know how much I wish that they had the death penalty here [in Alaska]."