August 3, 2020 at 1:36 p.m.
Liebscher gets three years for fatal hit-and-run
Additional six months for drinking while out on bond
Liebscher gets three years for fatal hit-and-run
Liebscher, 54, will also serve an additional 6 months for violating the conditions of his bond in the hit-and-run case by consuming intoxicants over Memorial Day weekend.
Oneida County Circuit Judge Patrick O'Melia handed down the sentence following a 90-minute hearing that included an emotional plea from the victim's mother, Dorothy Holtslander.
Holtslander asked the court to show Liebscher the same "compassion and mercy" he showed her son when their lives collided on the evening of Aug, 28, 2019, which in her estimation was "none."
"You not only left him there on the road like a stray animal that you had hit, but you did not call 911," she said, addressing Liebscher directly. "You did not care about him at all. You have shown no respect for life. You have shown no respect for this court or this judge."
According to his attorney Gary Cirilli, Liebscher was turning into his driveway at approximately 10:20 p.m. Aug. 28 when he struck a motorcycle operated by Holtslander. Cirilli indicated Liebscher misjudged what he was seeing, mistaking the light on Holtslander's motorcycle for a flashlight being held by a pedestrian.
"He misjudged what was coming at him on the highway," Cirilli said before reciting traffic accident statistics and arguing that all drivers make errors.
While Liebscher has admitted to drinking in the hours preceding the collision, the question of whether he was over the .08 legal limit when his truck smashed into Holtslander's motorcycle will never be known, noted Oneida County district attorney Mike Schiek.
This is because Liebscher left the scene and avoided police for approximately 11 hours, making it impossible to determine his blood alcohol level at the time of the accident. According to Schiek, Liebscher told police he got out of his truck after the collision because he was unsure of what he had struck. Liebscher, who has both EMT training and a nursing degree, told police he knew Holtslander was dead "because of the position and condition of the body," Schiek noted.
"He left Sean Holtslander lying on the side of Highway 17 alone. Rather than call 911, he hid his vehicle in woods, hid from police, and made it impossible to investigate the death," the prosecutor said. "(Investigators) couldn't draw blood to determine whether he was intoxicated."
Brian Liebscher is serving 8 months in jail for driving his younger brother to Three Lakes that night and misleading the investigators who were searching for him.
Jeffrey Liebscher contacted authorities the next morning, Aug. 29, and eventually admitted to striking Holtslander's bike and leaving the scene.
Dorothy Holtslander told the court she wakes up every day and relives the morning of Aug. 29 when police officers came to her door to inform her that her child was gone.
"He was the light of my life," she said of her son, adding that a parent's need to keep her child safe doesn't end when he becomes an adult.
"Being a parent is the most important position in life," she said. "From the time your child is born... their first breath becomes your first breath. Their needs become your needs...their dreams your dreams. You live for them.. Keeping them from harm's way is the single most important thought in your mind. This does not change as they become adults."
Holtslander shared some anecdotes from her son's life, including his request to be baptized at age 5, the food drive he helped organize when he was 10 and the family was living in a poverty-stricken area, and the time he spent visiting a hospice at age 12 holding his father's hand as he succumbed to cancer.
She said her son was not perfect, to be sure, but she stressed that he did not run from his mistakes.
"When Sean made a mistake he owned it. He never walked away from his responsibility," she said, adding that she grieves for the future her son, who was living in St. Germain at the time of his death, should have had. He had found the love of his life and was planning to propose to her, his mother said.
"You extinguished a life that had purpose...meaning...value," she said, addressing Liebscher.
Holtslander made it clear that she believes Liebscher was impaired by alcohol at the time of the collision but noted that if he wasn't intoxicated, as he has claimed, "that's worse" because it means he was in control and simply walked away from the scene.
O'Melia stated he received a number of letters from individuals who vouched for Liebscher's good character. Two friends, Tim Howell and Nathan Shrock, addressed the court on the defendant's behalf. Howell noted that Liebscher had been an altar boy in his youth and sang in choir as an adult. Both he and Shrock stated that Liebscher has always very giving of his time and has contributed considerably to his community. He helped shape the lives of many kids as a youth soccer and baseball coach, Shrock noted.
In his making his sentencing argument, Cirilli stressed that Liebscher does not have a history of anti-social or undesirable behavior and has lived the first 54 years of life in a law-abiding and productive manner. He argued Liebscher did not leave the scene that night because he was drunk but because "he saw his life flash before his eyes."
"He lost his senses and that's why we're here today," he argued.
Cirilli called Liebscher's decision to jump bail by drinking alcohol over Memorial Day weekend a "misstep" brought on by extreme stress due to intense social media activity related to the case. (Liebscher was discovered on Memorial Day sitting outside a residence in Sugar Camp drinking hard ice tea after someone called sheriff Grady Hartman to report that he was drinking in violation of his bond).
While Schiek was bound by a plea agreement to ask for a sentence no longer than what was recommended by the pre-sentence investigator, Cirilli argued that the PSI recommendation - three years incarceration and five years extended supervision - was too long.
He asked for 18 months incarceration to be followed by 18 months extended supervision.
Given his chance to speak, Liebscher apologized for his actions and told Holtslander that he did not intend to hurt her son. After noting that there was no life left in Sean's body, Liebscher said "terror and shock overtook me." His last "somewhat clear thought" was of his own children, he added. He stressed that he is ashamed that he left the scene that night and knows it was the wrong thing to do, but added that "it wouldn't have changed the outcome" if he had stayed and called 911.
He also told the court he is very upset with himself over the bail jumping incident.
"I cracked under stress and broke bond," he said, noting the social media frenzy over the case caused him extreme stress.
When it was his turn to address the defendant and those gathered in the gallery, O'Melia said he has been thinking about this case since the day it was assigned to him and understood from the outset that it would be a very difficult sentencing case. He then reviewed the factors all judges must consider in determining sentence and noted that Liebscher has a number of factors in his favor including a lack of criminal history. He also took time to explain to Holtslander that it would be inappropriate for him to follow her recommendation and sentence Liebscher to 23 years in prison, one year for each year her son lived.
The sentence, the judge explained, "is not a reflection on the life Sean lived, it's a reflection on the life Liebscher has led and his actions that night."
"I think alcohol had more to do with this than you're owning up to," O'Melia continued, addressing Liebscher directly.
Later, the judge said an inability to distinguish between a flashlight and a motorcycle light is, in his estimation, evidence of impairment.
He went on to note that he is concerned that Liebscher continues to minimize his responsibility. Remorse that someone has been killed is different that accepting responsibility for causing a death, he stressed, adding that the public should know that if they are ever in a similar situation "you stay and do your duty."
In addressing the bail jumping, O'Melia noted that Liebscher told police he could have attempted to flee again.
"It's supposed to be a good thing that you didn't take off into the woods?" the judge questioned.
He ended his remarks by noting how fortunate it was that another citizen came along, found Holtslander's "uncovered" body and took appropriate action. If that man had not come along, and if it had been a little later in the evening and a little darker, Liebscher might have gotten away with what he did, the judge said.
Liebscher was given credit for 69 days already served and O'Melia stated he will be eligible for the substance abuse program while in prison.
On July 17, Cirilli filed a motion requesting Liebscher be given a 48-hour furlough prior to sentencing to get his affairs in order. The motion was not addressed during Thursday's hearing and court records indicate the court did not rule on it.
Heather Schaefer may be reached at [email protected].
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