Judge ignores tears, gives man 25 years for child's death

Aug. 5, 2005

KATE KELLY\Frontiersman reporter

PALMER - A man whose lover's 5-year-old daughter died in a crash he caused two years ago cried as he talked about the incident during his sentencing hearing Monday in Palmer Superior Court.

"All through the trial this case has been sensationalized and I've been made out to be the monster I never imagined," Tice said, pointing out that he's been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and depression. "The only thing I could do was to protect the family and of course I was fearing prosecution. But there was no coercion or manipulation. I tried to advise her that our best action was to not make statements. I feel very much less of a man here today than I have for quite some time. My sincerest apologies to the family."

A pause followed before Judge Eric Smith sentenced Tice to 25 years in prison for the incident — five years beyond the usual maximum set by law.

Smith didn't buy Tice's suggestion that it was all Shelly Maddux's idea to lie to police, telling them she was the driver during the accident for an entire year afterward.

"Mr. Tice obviously had a rough childhood and life, but I have to look at the fact that he asked the mother to lie for him while she was holding her dying daughter in her arms. His behavior was as self-centered as you can get," Smith said, adding, "If he's got the ability to control somebody like that, that's dangerous - very dangerous."

The 25-year sentence for Tice, who has amassed 12 criminal convictions, was based on recommendations of Assistant District Attorney Bob Collins. In a court memorandum and during arguments before his Monday sentencing, Collins said Tice's failure at rehabilitation and history of manipulating the system call for as strict a sentence as possible.

"He has no credibility whatsoever," Collins told the court Monday, pointing out that even the Navy discharged Tice in 1990 for disregarding rules and regulations before Tice proceeded to get convicted of sexually abusing a minor in Fairbanks and other felonies.

Standing in front of the judge clean-shaven and wearing glasses, Tice tried in vain to explain his actions that February day in 2003 when the 1983 Subaru wagon in which they were riding went out of control and rolled three times in the Vienna Woods subdivision, killing Maddux's 5-year-old daughter, Kristin, and injuring her 3-year-old daughter, Celine.

No one was wearing seat belts when the crash occurred, which baffled Judge Smith and prosecutors.

Smith sentenced Maddux to three months in jail and three years of probation July 29 for hindering prosecution. Taped phone conversations and witness testimony finally revealed it was actually Tice who was driving that day and that he was drunk when the crash took place.

Maddux then told prosecutors that Tice pressured her to lie about who was driving while she was performing CPR on her lifeless daughter.

Maddux's ex-husband and father of the children involved in the crash, Robert Maddux, glared at Tice during his statements to the court.

He said afterward that he chose not to speak to the court because the podium was too close to where Tice was sitting.

"The whole time in jail all he thought of was himself," Maddux said of Tice outside the courtroom Monday. "As I told the DA, he's nothing but a piece of trash to me."

Contact Kate Kelly at

352-2284.