Christopher James Casey (Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office).
A Pennsylvania man who admitted to killing his neighbor after an alleged fight over snoring will spend no more than a few years behind bars.
Christopher James Casey, 56, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the stabbing death of Robert Wallace, 62. As Law&Crime previously reported, Casey was arrested in January in what authorities said was the culmination of a nearly two-year feud over “loud snoring.”
He was originally charged with third-degree murder.
According to Philadelphia NBC affiliate WCAU, Casey apologized to the victim’s family members in court at the sentencing and called the fatal fight “unfortunate.”
Casey, of Upper Moreland, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to 11.5 to 23 months in county jail after pleading guilty to the manslaughter charge as well as a charge of possession of an instrument of crime, local ABC affiliate WPVI reported. Casey’s time in jail will be followed by three years of probation, the outlet noted.
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Casey’s defense attorney, public defender James Lyons, said that Casey has received multiple threats to his life and that he is “a really good man who was not equipped to deal with this type of this sustained abuse and threats,” WPVI reported.
According to a news release from the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office at the time, officers with the Upper Moreland Township Police Department responded to a 911 call at about 6:34 p.m. on Jan. 15 regarding a stabbing at a residence in the 300 block of Fitch Road, about 15 miles north of Philadelphia. The caller who reported the stabbing identified himself as Casey, authorities said.
Once there, first responders said they located Wallace outside, about 50 feet away from the home. He appeared to have suffered multiple stab wounds. Emergency medical personnel took Wallace to Abington Hospital where he died.
Authorities also took Casey to Abington Hospital where he was treated for a stab wound on his right thigh, officials said.
Officers said they recovered a “large military-style knife” and a cellphone on the front porch of Casey’s home. Police also found a window screen that appeared to have been removed from a window by the front door of Casey’s home and tossed onto a nearby grassy area. The window with the removed screen was open when police arrived, authorities noted.
An investigation revealed that “the two men were known to Upper Moreland Police due to ongoing arguments, including arguments about the defendant’s loud snoring, which the victim could hear through the shared wall of the two residences,” the release said. “In this incident, Wallace showed up at Casey’s residence while Casey was eating dinner and removed the screen from the defendant’s window, which was accessible from the porch. Following a verbal altercation between the two men, Casey used a large, military style knife to stab Wallace several times.”
Investigators found blood spatter inside and outside of Casey’s home, authorities said.
An autopsy on Wallace’s body determined his manner of death was a homicide and the cause of death was multiple stab wounds to the chest. Three days after the results of the autopsy, Casey was arrested and charged in the case.
According to court documents obtained by WPVI, in his interview with police, Casey said that he and Wallace had been speaking for about 20 minutes through Casey’s window and by the end of the conversation, Casey allegedly said that Wallace had calmed down and even offered to give Casey money to put toward nasal surgery.
Wallace then reportedly went to the front door to shake hands with Casey, who allegedly said he unlocked the door holding his knife and stun gun.
“Casey described Wallace as being very ‘volatile’ ‘very strong,’ ‘he’s angry’ type of person,” the charging documents reportedly state. “Casey said he did not believe Wallace’s intention of ‘try to work this out’ and ‘shake hands’ and try ‘to fix this situation’ was genuine. As a result, Casey decided to ‘surprise him’ by stabbing Wallace with a knife.”
Jerry Lambe contributed to this story.
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