Published Wednesday, May 12, 1999 Instead, she turned and lashed out at her cousin Russell K. Root, who was about to be sentenced to life in prison for murder.
"My father was a loving, caring man and you broke into his house and beat him to death," Mrs. Smith said through angry tears.
"You're a relative, Rusty. How could you do this? There's no way in hell I will ever forgive you," Mrs. Smith said, holding a picture of her father -- and Russell Root's great uncle -- Harold Root.
Russell Root, 20, of Brookfield, pleaded guilty April 1 to the second-degree murder of Harold Root on Feb. 14, 1998. The younger Root demanded money for drugs from his great uncle and then beat the 70-year-old man to death with a tire iron, he said when he pleaded guilty. After the murder at the elder man's Pullam Road home in Shenango Township, Russell Root said he stole $80 from his great uncle's wallet, a television and a videocassette recorder.
During the plea hearing, Russell Root implicated a former girlfriend, Brandy Wills, as an accomplice in the murder. He previously cleared Miss Wills of involvement, but implicated her after she testified against him, said Mercer County District Attorney James P. Epstein. It is unlikely that charges will be brought against Miss Wills, he said.
Mrs. Smith discovered her father's body the morning after the murder, Epstein said. Mrs. Smith said she still is haunted by seeing "blood all over the walls."
Mrs. Smith said she not only lost her father, but her children lost their grandfather. "You took our whole life away. You made us wait 16 months. I want my life, too," she said.
Harold Root was a generous man, Mrs. Smith said. "He would have given you the TV and VCR, but you had to kill him for it," she said.
Fornelli said he also found the murder to be "inexplicable."
"This was a particularly brutal, gruesome murder and it was a drug-induced crime with a drug-induced motive. It's hard to grasp what was going on in your mind," the judge said.
Russell Root said nothing. His lawyer, Timothy J. Blatt, said Root's parents gave birth to Russell when they were too young to properly care for him.
"He was bounced around to other family members. There is no dispute that he is here because of his own action, but he had a lot of help because of the lack of caring, nurturing parents," Blatt said.
"Harold Root was a good, gentle, kind man," Fornelli said. "I understand your bad upbringing, frustrations and drugs, but to get to the point that you got that night is beyond my understanding."
"You've got to change. Life is too precious to waste. Harold Root is gone. The only life you can control is your own. I am very, very pessimistic about you," the judge told Russell Root.
In sentencing Root to life in prison, Fornelli said the young man will have a lifetime to figure out why he killed his great uncle.
The judge also ordered Root to pay $1,081 restitution to Mrs. Smith and $216 restitution to her sister, Candy Jordan.
