TACOMA, Wash. — There was justice – but no winners -- in a Tacoma courtroom Friday when a young man with no criminal record was sentenced to more than 16 years in prison for killing Todd Morose of Tacoma.
Matthew James Haygood asked Morose’s family for forgiveness and admitted he made a fatal mistake March 7 that he’ll regret for the rest of his life. “At times I hate myself for being the cause of so much pain,” the 31-year old Haygood told the court. “If I could have one wish it would be that I could take back what’s happened.”
Haygood pleaded guilty to drinking multiple beers then plowing a borrowed pickup truck into the Morose family’s SUV on State Route 507 three months ago, killing Morose and seriously injuring his two daughters and wife. His widow, Leeanna Morose, told Haygood and the judge about her family’s on-going suffering. “The crash has changed my family’s life and my daughters forever,” she said, and called her husband of 17 years her “best friend and soul mate.”
Pierce County Superior Court Judge Frank Cuthbertson agreed to the deal Haygood and the prosecutor struck earlier, sentencing the Roy man to 194 months in prison. When Haygood’s mother asked for leniency – her son wept. “I’m very sorry for the family for their loss and their injuries,” Connie Tucksten told the judge. “But I love him so much.”
Haygood’s defense attorney said his client’s show of remorse was genuine and that Haygood is terrified of going to prison. “He’s not a jail bird. He’s never been there before,” Jeffrey Cross told KIRO 7. “Strange things go on in jail. He’s terrified.”
After the proceeding, in the hallway outside the courtroom, Leeanna Morose said she was satisfied with the sentence – the maximum possible under the plea deal. The widow was also satisfied with Haygood’s apology. “I really appreciated that he said he was sorry,” Morose said through tears. “I needed to hear that.”
KIRO
