BILLINGS — Kristopher Michael Harasymczuk was sentenced on Wednesday for killing his four-year-old stepson by drowning him in a bath.
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Harasymczuk received an 80-year sentence for deliberate homicide from Yellowstone County District Court Judge Collette Davies. He also received an additional 15-year sentence for charges of assault of a minor and tampering with evidence, which will be served concurrently.
Harasymczuk was convicted in a jury trial in March. Prosecutors said that Harasymczuk unleashed a pattern of abuse against his stepson, Jaxsynn Gatlin, and other children in the household that culminated in the boy's death in October 2021.
"What happened to these kids is evil," said Detective David Raschkow of the Billings Police Department on the witness stand.
"This is the worst one I've been involved in for sure," said John Ryan, Yellowstone senior deputy county attorney.
In addition, Harasymczuk's wife, Lana Marie Harasymczuk, was charged this week with six felonies for child endangerment and tampering with evidence related to the murder and other alleged abuse of her children.
Her testimony was read by the prosecution.
"Lana was supposed to testify, but she invoked her Fifth Amendment right," said Lyndon Schebeck, one of Harasymczuk's attorneys. "But we have the right to confront the witness. Well we didn't get that in this case, so that's just one of many appeals."
According to court documents, Lana had initially told police that her son had gotten into the bath on his own, and her husband was not present when he fell in and drowned.
Days later, after an autopsy found bruising on Jaxsynn and other signs of abuse, detectives interviewed Lana Harasymczuk a second time, and she changed her story, admitting that her husband was the last one in the bathroom with the boy before he died, according to court documents.
She also said that he spanked three of her children with a metal spatula, according to court documents.
Detectives recovered the metal spatula in a dumpster, and it was broken, according to court documents.
Judge Jeanne Walker set bail for Lana at $100,000. In addition, she must wear GPS monitoring and avoid all contact with minors, including her children, and witnesses in the case.
