BRENTWOOD, N.H. --A New Hampshire man was sentenced to 15 to 30 years in prison Friday for beating his wife to death with a flashlight after he came home to find she had strangled their 4-year-old son with a ribbon and tried to kill their 7-year-old daughter.
Christopher Smeltzer, 38, pleaded guilty to killing Mara Pappalardo, who was hospitalized several times for mental illness. Prosecutors say she was paranoid, obsessed with death and convinced her husband and mother-in-law were plotting to take her children away.
"When I walked into the room, as soon as I saw my son, I knew something was very wrong," Smeltzer told the court before he was sentenced, his voice breaking at times. "I knew he was dead. And I lost all control. Enraged, I struck my wife. I did something that was not going to bring my son back."
Smeltzer was charged with second-degree murder in the November 2010 killing at their Auburn home. Prosecutors later downgraded that to manslaughter, saying he was provoked by the sight of the still bodies of their son, Mason, and daughter, Mercey.
He arrived home Nov. 7 to find Mason with a ribbon around his neck and Mercey with a scarf around hers. He thought both were dead. Pappalardo tied a blue rope around her own neck in an attempt to kill herself, although prosecutors said she died from both strangulation and Smeltzer hitting her in the head with the flashlight.
Smeltzer did not call 911. Instead, he snipped the ribbon off Mason's neck and removed the scarf from Mercey's. Then he took all the pills he could find -- painkillers, sleeping aids and methadone -- and lay down on the couch to die.
He was awakened the next morning by Mercey, who asked if her mother and brother were breathing and requested a cup of tea. He made her one, then called his father and 911.
Smeltzer, who was wearing handcuffs Friday, wept while talking about how much he misses his son. "I miss my wife as well," he said. "I miss Mara's smile and heart and the way she played with our children."
He apologized to her family. "I brought more pain and sorrow," he said, adding he wishes every day he had a rewind button.
Judge Tina Nadeau said if Smeltzer earns a college degree and completes anger management behind bars, his minimum sentence would be reduced to 10 years.
What would you do in a situation like this? What if this was your Father or your Mother? Or what if this happened to your children?
Please answer in complete sentences and don't forget spell check!
WOW! i honestly dont know. I would really be hurt.
ReplyDeletei woulda killed ha too .!
ReplyDeletei would have apprehended the i would in a different fashion probably
ReplyDeleteI don't think i would ever go that far maybe he did go that far because he had mental issues and i don't know why the kids did that because that wasn't smart at all pretending their dead.The mom wasn't so smart either she committed suicide just because of her kids pretending she could have checked there breath or the heartbeat of their kids,But she just went straight to the suicidal punishment.It seems like she tried to do it like romeo and Juliet when she dies just because of them and he was just pretending.
ReplyDeleteThe same thing, but then again you never know what you'll do in a situation like this. If this was my daddy who did this i would be glad he saved me from her, and he ended her misery. If this was my mother deeply saddened and hurt, i would really miss my mama. If this was my child everybody would have to pay and especially if i had to go to prison, like law abiding citizen.
ReplyDeleteWow ! iReally Wouldn't Know ! This Is Very Deep but Then Again I Would Have Killed Her Tew
ReplyDeletei might of let her kill herself that way she knows the pain but then yet u would kill her too if she killed my kids.
ReplyDeleteOKay I don't think I would ever go that far. I mean death is never the way to deal with pain all the same with murder. You will only cause more pain.
ReplyDelete