By JIM RUNKLE

jrunkle@lockhaven.com

LOCK HAVEN – William J. “B.J.” Snyder, 36, of Renovo, charged with strangling his wife to death on Easter Sunday 2015, was sentenced to 20 to 42 years in a state correctional facility Friday.

Snyder told Clinton County Judge Michael Salisbury that depression and post traumatic stress disorder contributed to his actions, but the judge discounted claims that an anger blackout precipitated the attack that led to the death of Kelley Jo Snyder.

Snyder was charged with first-degree murder, third-degree murder, false reports, abuse of a corpse and two counts of tampering with or fabricating physical evidence.

He pleaded guilty to all but the first-degree murder charge under the terms of an agreement reached between Deputy Attorney General Michele L. Kluk and the defendant’s attorney David Lindsay.

Snyder faced a maximum penalty of 40 years in a state correctional facility on the third-degree murder charge alone. He actually received a minimum sentence of 20 years plus one month in prison, due to the penalty attached to one of his other crimes.

The hearing itself included a number of victim impact statements offered by Kelley Jo’s mother Kelley Varner; Kelley Jo’s father John “Joe” Wertz, and the victim’s sister, T.T. Bixler, who also read a written impact statement from Kelley Jo’s son, Ty.

Judge Salisbury said he used a variety of factors to decide the penalty, including the seriousness of the crime, the statements by victims, and the results of the defendant’s background investigation.

But in the final analysis, he said, all the defendant’s justifications and claims can be reduced to one stark statement.

“We are here today because you cannot control your anger,” Judge Salisbury said. “It’s as simple as that.”

The sentence was handed down in the large courtroom, which saw a larger than usual audience attending. The audience was dominated by Kelley Jo’s family and friends who poured into the room to see justice done on behalf of Kelley Jo.

In the early stages of the prosecution, Snyder was represented by then-public defender David Strouse, who has since been elected district attorney and consequently was removed from the case.

Lindsay was brought in as legal representative almost at the onset of the case.

Judge Salisbury and Witness/Victim Coordinator Jennifer Bottorf both suggested that many relatives of the victim wanted to express their feelings about the impact the death of a loved one by violence has had on their lives.

The first three rows of benches were cordoned off with yellow security tape to provide measure of distance between the audience and defendant. Over five deputies and police officers stood at strategic points in the courtroom.

The desire to offer testimony about the tragic impact of the loss on family and community was strong.

One-by-one, at the behest of the attorney general, Kelley’s family members spoke.

“This turned us all upside down,” Varner said, noting the toll the loss had taken on her family physically, emotionally, financially and in other ways that could only be described as “shock and hopelessness.”

The aborted plans for a family visit, the anticipation of renewed family ties, the plans for the future, all came to one horrific end, Varner said. “And today, family members still find themselves overcome by grief in quiet moments of reflection, especially when they realize that Kelley Jo’s children will grow up without their mother.”

T.T. Bixler said she and her sister both suffered psychological trauma from the loss, and her 16-year-old daughter has problems in school “with no end in sight for her depression.”

Bixler has trouble dealing with work, so there’s an extra, financial component to her long-term impact, she said.

“Unless you experience a family member being murdered you have no idea,” she said. “You never get over it … All we can ask for is justice for Kelley, justice for her children, justice for the family, and justice for her friends and loved ones.”

Wertz had difficulty holding his anger in, as he held a photograph of Kelley Jo. He was repeatedly reminded by the judge to keep his comments directed at the court, rather than the orange-clad defendant sitting a short distance away.

“He ruined many families,” Wertz said. “I think he should get what she got – Death. She is never going to know how much I loved her … He has no remorse … If not for these police and my respect for you, judge, they couldn’t keep me away from him.”

“Kelley Jo isn’t some news story,” Bixler said, “She’s a real person.”

Trying to describe what it’s like to live with the loss, Bixler said she was trying to survive in a dark sea, slammed repeatedly by large waves, and struggling but failing to catch air as she sinks beneath the surface.

Bixler repeatedly characterized Snyder as a “monster … who deserves no freedom … Don’t give him a chance to ruin another life, because he deserves no life at all.”

Ty’s letter to the court described the loss of his mother as “losing my best friend.”

Snyder himself addressed the court in a rambling, lengthy personal account of his life, from his early days in Renovo, to his time in the military to his first marriage, and on to his eventual meeting and marrying Kelley Jo.

Deputy Attorney General Kruk also had harsh words for the defendant, focusing not only on the strength that was necessary to strangle and kill Kelley Jo, but also listing the various stories and elaborate efforts to hide those actions from police.

The defendant called two witnesses to testify on his behalf.

Rhonda Ransdorf said Snyder was her first cousin and acted like a brother to her while they were growing up. She said Snyder was a good father and husband and made sure his family was always provided for.

Francis DeMart III said Snyder was his cousin. He had known him for 36 years, and they shared a mutual passion for sports. He described the defendant as kind, giving and selfless to family and friends.

Snyder’s attorney said Snyder was “a good person who committed a terrible act,” and said before this incident, his client lived a law-abiding life. He said Snyder expected to “pay a significant price” for his crime, but had expressed great remorse and regret for his actions.

Snyder said his woes occurred because of his service in Iraq, his suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and his inability to deal with the psychological trauma of war.

Kelley Jo passed away Sunday, April 5, 2015.

The events of that Easter Sunday sparked a large response from local emergency crews who searched for several days, after police received the report of Kelley Jo’s disappearance.

According to police, B.J. called state police at Lamar about midnight that Sunday, telling them his wife had left home for the nearby Dollar General store about 6 p.m. to buy a can of sweet potatoes for Easter dinner, then never returned.

The community came out in force to look for the then 34-year-old mother of three. Hundreds of people with dogs, boats, four-wheel-drive vehicles and on foot scoured the area around Renovo and searched the West Branch of the Susquehanna River. The search was in its sixth day when Kelley Jo’s body was found in a wooded area outside of town.

The search and police investigation was complicated by Snyder’s attempts to cover up his crime. He fabricated a ransom note that was found on the mailbox at the couple’s home and he sent himself an email from would-be kidnappers.

The defendant was taken into custody on April 10 in connection with his wife’s disappearance, and court records state he acknowledged being involved in his wife’s death.

According to arrest records, the defendant told police in an April 11 interview that he and Kelley Jo had a verbal argument at their home on Easter when the confrontation turned physical.

Snyder said Kelley Jo threw what he believed to be a can of hair spray at him, but missed him. He claimed she then took a swing at him and hit him in the chest area. Then, he told police, he grabbed her by the arms and got behind her before falling to the ground. Snyder alleged his arms were around her neck as he was behind her, before he then let Kelley Jo up and she tried to hit him again. He said he grabbed her again and that they were on the ground and he was on top of her straddling her. He stated that his hands were around her neck and that she stopped moving, police said.

The defendant said he placed the victim in a sleeping bag, put her in his 2010 Mitsubishi Outlander and drove to a pull-off at Halls Run where he dumped her near the water. He told police he threw her driver’s license into Halls Run and left the area. He said he went to a local restaurant and threw the sleeping bag into a Dumpster behind the restaurant, police said.