SALT LAKE CITY — A.J. Wolfinjer said he still can't understand how his cousin was robbed, kidnapped and brutally murdered over such a small debt.
"I lost a family member over $750 worth of drugs," he said. "It's not worth it."
The fourth and final defendant charged in connection with the beating death of Jay Wolfinjer was sentenced Monday to at least 21 years in prison.
Fonua Kimoana, 31, was ordered to serve 15 years to life for murder, a first-degree felony, and six years to life for aggravated kidnapping, a first-degree felony. Judge Robert Faust ordered that the terms be served concurrently and that Kimoana be given credit for the nearly two years he has already served.
A.J. Wolfinjer said after the hearing that he took no real satisfaction in the sentence, though he did believe it was fair.
"It is what it is," he said. "Reality is reality."
Jay Wolfinjer's badly beaten body was found in a West Valley shed on Oct. 9, 2008. The 32-year-old man's hands and feet were bound, a shirt wrapped around his head and a chain tied around his waist. He was found while still alive, but died soon after in a hospital.
Wolfinjer was first attacked at his West Jordan apartment, then was kidnapped and taken to the shed in West Valley City. The beating and torture was believed to have been over a $750 drug debt. A knife was stuck into Wolfinjer's knee and he was hit in the head with a blunt object, police said.
A.J. Wolfinjer spoke strongly in court on the waste of the gang life, on the profound losses that can come over something so trivial as drugs and alcohol. He said he hopes that people will look at the lives of his cousin and those convicted of killing him and learn a lesson.
"There is absolutely no reason for this," A.J. Wolfinjer said. "You say while you're in jail you want to do something … teach others to avoid gang life. Let's raise our children and teach them."
Prosecutor Sandi Johnson detailed the violent and bloody scene that Jay Wolfinjer's apartment became. She said Kimoana personally wrapped the dying man in a sheet, threw him over his shoulder and carried him to the truck of his uncle, Pailate Lomu — who is believed to have been the leader of the group who leveled the fatal blows. But she said he also cooperated with authorities and took responsibility for his role from the beginning.
For his part, Kimoana — who was supported at the hearing by several rows full of family and friends — said he didn't know what was going on when his uncle called him to Wolfinjer's home. He said he was told to get money. He said, looking back, he could have done more. He said he tried to stop his uncle at one point.
"I said 'enough,' " Kimoana told the judge. "He looked at me and I backed away because the look on his face wasn't good."
Kimoana addressed to the victim's family, the prosecutor and the judge. He thanked Johnson for being compassionate, but also just. He thanked the judge for being fair throughout his court proceedings. He apologized to his family for the shame he has brought to their name.
And he asked Wolfinjer's family to write.
"Please correspond with me," he said. "Express any anger or frustration or any questions you might have. The loss of your son, father, brother is painful enough. Let me help your family get closure. Your family has suffered enough."
Kimoana, Pailate Lomu, 44, Ooleanui Kaina Salanoa, 25, and Tuusoa Adele Ama, 42, were all charged with murder, aggravated kidnapping and two counts of aggravated robbery, all first-degree felonies, in connection with Wolfinjer's death.
Salanoa pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of negligent homicide, a class A misdemeanor, and aggravated burglary, a first-degree felony, as part of a plea bargain. He was sentenced to six years to life in prison on the aggravated burglary charge and up to one year in prison for the negligent homicide charge.
Ama was sentenced to serve two to 15 years in prison for a reduced charge of manslaughter, a second-degree felony, and 10 years to life for aggravated kidnapping, a first-degree felony.
Lomu pleaded guilty to murder and aggravated kidnapping, first-degree felonies, and was sentenced to serve two terms of 15 years to life in prison.
After the hearing, Kimoana's attorney John Johnson said the case is a "terrible, terrible tragedy." He said his client never denied being there, but should never have done the things his uncle told him to do.
"The message is family is one thing and the law is another," he said. "No one is above the law."
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