Antonio Barbeau, 14, Sentenced to Life in Prison for Murdering Grandmother With Hatchet
Antonio Barbeau, 14, was sentenced to life behind bars with the possibility of parole when he turns 50 after being found guilty of murdering his grandmother. The judge called the crime one of the hardest cases he'd ever had to rule on before sentencing the boy.
"In my 24 years on the bench, I've not seen anything of this nature. Not even close," Judge Timothy Van Akkeren told the court. "It gives me great sadness to see someone of your age going into the system … I'm sorry to see this have to happen."
Barbeau and his friend, 14-year-old Nathan Paape, were found guilty of killing 78-year-old Barbara Olson with a hatchet and hammer. Barbeau had apparently run away from a juvenile detention facility when he met up with Paape and went to his grandmother's home. Once they arrived at the home, Olson invited the boys in. That's when they began hitting her with the hatchet and hammer.
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The coroner ruled that Olson had been struck at least 27 times between the two boys. Barbeau and Paape stole money and jewelry from Olson's home; they also stole her car and parked it in a nearby bowling alley, possibly to distract from the original crime scene.
During sentencing, Barbeau expressed a great deal of remorse. He attempted to read a statement of apology to the court but became so overwhelmed that he couldn't finish. He then handed the letter to his defense attorney, George Limbeck, who was barely able to finish reading it.
Barbeau's family, and the defense attorney, maintains that the boy suffers from a permanent brain injury that impaired his decision making and that he should not receive such a lengthy sentence.
"Justice involves looking at a crime from all different perspectives," Limbeck said, "otherwise justice has a real risk of looking like nothing more than punishment and revenge."
Yet Judge Van Akkeren explained that his sentence was "the minimum" needed to protect the public and Barbeau as well as set an example for others.
