By Mollee Francisco

“He is the greatest disappointment a father could ever have,” Tom Everson told a packed courtroom Friday morning at his son Grant Everson’s sentencing hearing.

“I do not hate him, I do not love him and at this point I cannot forgive him.”

Tom’s statement came moments before Judge Kevin Eide sentenced Grant Everson to life in prison without the possibility of parole for his role in the murder of his mother Nancy Everson. Nancy was found shot to death in her Chaska residence on January 15, 2006.

Grant’s friend Joel Beckrich, who admitted to being the one to pull the shotgun trigger, was sentenced to 45 years in prison last month. Prosecuting attorneys offered Beckrich a lighter sentence in exchange for his testimony against Grant.

“Even though he wasn’t the shooter, we feel (Grant) was more culpable,” said Carver County Attorney Mike Fahey.

After hearing three weeks of testimony in November, a Carver County jury found Everson guilty of four counts of murder. Everson was sentenced to only one of the counts, aiding and abetting murder in the first degree, on Friday.

State sentencing guidelines dictate a sentence of life in prison for all first-degree murder charges. But that didn’t make Eide’s job any easier.

“I struggle greatly with no possibility of parole,” he told the court, adding that in his private interactions with Grant, he found him to be “a bright and respectful young man.”

“I still have absolutely no explanation for what brought you to the point of killing your parents,” he continued. But it was Grant’s emotionless demeanor that Eide found most disconcerting.

“I see no better reason to lock you up for life than I do not know what rage lies within you or when it might strike again,” he said.

Grant himself did not address the court Friday. His case is currently going through the state’s Court of Appeals and he was advised not to make any admissions during his sentencing. As through much of his time in court, he showed no emotion as Eide sentenced him.

Prior to the sentencing, the state offered comments from Tom and a victim impact statement written by Nancy’s brother, Philip McCartney.

“I still find it difficult to believe that anyone who knew Nancy could be involved in such an evil act,” he wrote. “I certainly thought everyone in my family cherished life.”

McCartney advocated for the mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole, saying “I do not want anyone else to be victimized by my nephew.”

Tom concurred with that statement, adding that his son had “failed as a human being” and therefore “failed to have any right to live with the rest of us.”

Tom began his statement by addressing his son.

“Have you thought about how much pain you have caused?” he asked.

At that point, defense attorney Christine Funk, interrupted his comments to ask the judge to remind Tom that they had previously discussed not directly addressing Grant.

Tom was then forced to revise his statements.

“All of the events that happened were because of his actions,” he said.

“Did he know how much I loved her? Did he know how much we loved him? Did he forget he loved us, too? Can he see how his actions have diminished all of humanity?”

Tom added that he did not take responsibility for his son’s actions and reiterated that he will not be defined by this tragedy.

Surrounded by friends and family, Tom told reporters afterward that he hoped this sentencing would bring closure for him.

“It’s so painful and so sad,” he said of the past year. “You don’t want to go through it ever.”

Grant’s sister Nicole said that she was “satisfied” with her brother’s sentence.

“I think he deserves it,” she said.

But in a statement that they were not allowed to read in court, Sue and Verne Severson requested a more lenient sentence for Grant, one that included the possibility of parole.

The Seversons knew Grant for the two years that their daughter Mary dated him prior to the murder. They said that they knew him to be an “intelligent, kind, gentle, caring person.”

“It is easier to consider Grant worthless and lock him away forever than it is to make room for the possibility of redemption,” they wrote. “It is easier to serve justice with only punishment than it is to include love with justice.”

“In order for us to move on, we need to forgive Grant for his part in that pain and grief. Also, in order for all of us who know and care about Grant to heal and move on, we will need to know there is room for redemption – even if that redemption can only come after 30 years.”

Grant could be eligible for parole only if his first-degree murder conviction was overturned by the Court of Appeals. At that point, the court would consider sentencing for his lesser murder convictions.