BILLINGS - A Billings man was sentenced to 80 years in prison Wednesday for killing his 4-year-old stepson by drowning him in a bath.
Kristopher Michael Harasymczuk received an 80-year sentence for deliberate homicide from Yellowstone County District Court Judge Collette Davies. He also received an additional 15-year sentence for charges of assault of a minor and tampering with evidence, which will be served concurrently.
Watch video on sentencing here:
Harasymczuk was convicted in a jury trial in March. Prosecutors said at trial that Harasymczuk unleashed a pattern of abuse against his stepson, Jaxsynn Gatlin, and other children in the household that culminated in the boy's death in October 2021.
"What happened to these kids is evil," said Detective David Raschkow of the Billings Police Department, on the witness stand.
"This is the worst one I've been involved in for sure," said John Ryan, Yellowstone senior deputy county attorney.
In addition, Harasymczuk's wife, Lana Marie Harasymczuk, was charged this week with six felonies for child endangerment and tampering with evidence related to the murder and other alleged abuse of her children.
Her testimony was read by the prosecution.
"Lana was supposed to testify, but she invoked her Fifth Amendment right," said Lyndon Schebeck, one of Harasymczuk's attorneys. "But we have the right to confront the witness. Well we didn't get that in this case, so that's just one of many appeals."
Watch video to learn more about the case:
