Man Is Sentenced to Death for Killing His Family

Sentenced to death Wednesday for the murders of his wife and three young children, Christian Longo wept as he described his wife as a wonderful mother who would never do anything to harm her children.

His post-verdict statement to the relatives of the victims was a sharp contrast to his claim at trial that his wife, MaryJane, was responsible for the deaths of their two eldest children.

Speaking directly to MaryJane’s sister, Sally Clark, Longo said he had been “selfish to sit on the stand for three days, to talk about negative aspects of MaryJane that in many cases weren’t true.”

“I feel remorse, which is something that I haven’t felt before,” Longo added. “My acts are something that I can’t blame anyone else for. I won’t pretend that I’m cured or that I’m walking a straight and narrow path, but I will say that this has been a tremendous wake-up call if nothing else.”

Judge Robert Huckleberry dismissed the statements as self-serving and insincere.

“The facts of this case reach a level of perfidy beyond anything I have ever experienced,” Huckleberry said.

The judge said it was “impossible, in my judgment, for you ... to either atone for these crimes or expect absolution.”

Huckleberry also said that Longo lied about his wife, but that “the jury saw through it, just as I saw through it, and they held you accountable.”

The Lincoln County jury of eight women and four men deliberated for about five hours before recommending that Longo be executed by lethal injection.

The same jury had earlier convicted Longo, 29, in the murder of his two older children, 4-year-old Zachery and 3-year-old Sadie.

Longo had pleaded guilty to killing MaryJane and their youngest daughter, 2-year-old Madison.

After the verdict, MaryJane’s sister read a prepared statement to the court in a steady voice.

“It was most disturbing to hear MaryJane’s good name dirtied by one of the people she loved the most,” Clark said.

“MaryJane was a very private person. It hurt to hear the details of her life made public, and her love for her children questioned. The only thing she is guilty of is trying to be a good wife and mother.”

Clark also recalled the brief time she’d spent with her nephew and nieces, remembering how Zachery was “always ready to try new things.”

“Sadie was quiet and gentle,” Clark said. “She was always trying to keep up with her big brother Zachery. I miss seeing her dressed in pink with her black patent leather shoes. I miss looking into Madison’s big, round eyes, wondering what she was thinking.”

Longo’s address to the court was mainly a rambling, repeated apology.

Prosecutors had described Longo as a cold-hearted man with a taste for fine wine and cars the family could not afford.

They said he killed his family so he could enjoy a more uninhibited lifestyle.