A mentally ill Roy teenager was sentenced Monday to serve from one to 15 years in prison for the Oct. 13 strangulation death of a 10-year-old neighbor girl.
Sean Winget, 16, was sentenced on the second-degree felony charge of manslaughter by 2nd District Judge Stanton Taylor. Winget did not speak nor did he show any emotion during the hearing.He was convicted of manslaughter and mentally ill on May 24 for the slaying of his friend Tara Stark. First-degree felony murder charges were filed against the youth, but the eight-member jury found him guilty of the lesser charge.
Evidence showed that Winget suffers from organic brain damage caused by a shunt being placed inside his head when he was a baby. Winget admitted to mental health officials that he killed Stark and left her body in a drainage ditch on the outskirts of Roy.
Also, evidence revealed that Winget thought that an evil spirit was controlling him when he became sexually aroused and killing Stark was the only way to make the feeling go away.
Defense attorney John Caine said during the sentencing hearing that Winget functioned on the level of a 12 or 13 year old and that placing his client in prison would be inappropriate. Instead, Caine recommended that Winget be housed in a juvenile correctional facility.
"This is a case where there's got to be punishment," said Caine. "We all need to be responsible for Sean."
Caine said that with proper treatment, Winget could eventually become a productive member of society.
But deputy Weber County attorney Gary Heward said Winget belongs in prison in order to protect society. "Sean Winget is dangerous," he said. "He's dangerous and he'll always be dangerous."
Heward also asked the judge to write a letter to the Board of Pardons recommending that Winget serve the full 15 years in prison.
Taylor said he would put Winget in prison but that the defendant would be housed in the mental health facility there. "Mr. Winget has done a terrible thing," said Taylor. "I don't believe there's a really good solution here."
The judge said he would write a letter to the Board of Pardons and suggest that if Winget continues to pose a threat to young girls after his 15-year sentence is over, then the state might have the defendant committed civilly to a mental facility.