MAYVILLE-Allen Witruke, 54, Jamestown, plead guilty Thursday to two counts of first-degree Manslaughter in Chautauqua County Court.
Witruke was previously accused of killing his wife and step-son.
District Attorney Patrick Swanson discussed the case with reporter Ryan Hedrick during an interview Thursday. Swanson said he had mixed feelings regarding the outcome.
“Any time you get a conviction with what the defendant is accused of, you feel a sense of satisfaction,” Swanson said. “However, at the end of the day, you had a loss of life.”
Swanson, who typically prosecutes murder cases, said the Witruke case was particularly disturbing for him.
“The most disturbing aspects of this case dealt with the defendant murdering two family members, ” the DA said. “In my opinion, that was the most egregious part of the case.”
“It’s difficult to prosecute these cases sometimes, but it’s very important to remain a professional attorney during cases like these.”
Swanson hopes there’s closure for the family which was reportedly tight-knit at the time.
“I don’t know if the action of one affected the rest of the family, but the aspects of the case were tragic.”
Witruke will be sentenced Aug. 22nd, and Swanson said the punishment is out of his hand.
“When a person pleads guilty, the sentencing is mostly out of my hands,” Swanson said. “The judge did commit to the 10-20 year range for each count, and, in my opinion, will be around 20.”
“With a 54-year-old, that would basically be a life sentence.”