Sterling Robin-Scott Shaver’s heart stopped on the operating table after he was stabbed 15 times while trying to keep a friend from killing a mother of five during a methamphetamine-fueled rampage last year in Vancouver’s Sunnyside neighborhood.
“I bled out during that surgery, and while one doctor took my heart in his hands and massaged it, over three gallons of blood and plasma was infused until my heart took off on its own again,” Shaver said. He spoke during Neal Cedric Kelly’s sentencing hearing Tuesday in Clark County Superior Court.
He continues to undergo medical treatment for his injuries, Shaver survived the attack.
“This isn’t true for Jennie Brill,” Shaver said. “This mother’s life has ended abruptly and violently over a senseless and silly argument.”
Kelly, 27, was sentenced Tuesday to 30 years in prison for fatally stabbing Brill, 43, of Vancouver, critically injuring Shaver and assaulting a police officer during the attack on Sept. 28, 2013, at a home at 8707 N.E. 89th Ave. He pleaded guilty in Clark County Superior Court on Nov. 20 to second-degree murder, first-degree assault and third-degree assault.
Deputy Prosecutor Dan Gasperino and Kelly’s attorney, Jeff Barrar, jointly recommended a sentence of 25 years.
“I can’t look at Mr. Shaver and the Brill family and say 25 years is adequate,” said Judge Suzan Clark before imposing the 30-year sentence.
Shaver said the attack was an act of betrayal. Shaver, who had been friends with Kelly for about 18 months, had offered Kelly a place to stay the night of the attack. He said he didn’t know at the time that Kelly had been out of jail for only three days for assaulting his father and wasn’t allowed to return home because of a no-contact order. He also had been trying to persuade Kelly to stop using methamphetamine.
“He’d simply told me he couldn’t go home, and I didn’t ask questions because I trusted him,” Shaver said.
Kelly, who is hard of hearing, expressed through a sign language interpreter that he is remorseful for the suffering he has caused. He blamed his violent behavior on his use of methamphetamine. Before he started using the drug, he said he had goals and had planned to attend college.
“It’s so difficult for me to understand,” he said. “If I could trade my life for Jennie’s today, I would do it in a heartbeat, but I know that will not bring her back.”
According to court documents, Kelly told investigators that he was high on methamphetamine when he killed Brill in front of her daughter and six other people, according to a court affidavit by Clark County sheriff’s Detective Kevin Harper.
Brill’s sister, Cathleen Smith, said Brill is survived by five children.
“I thought (the sentence) was more than fair,” Smith said. “I’m a big-hearted person, and no matter what (the judge) gave him, it won’t bring Jennie back, and (Kelly’s) family is suffering.”
The rampage began when Kelly argued with Nicholas S. Hammann, whom Kelly suspected of taking $40. Kelly then suddenly stabbed Brill for no apparent reason. Shaver tried to intervene, and Kelly then stabbed him, according to court documents.
Next, Kelly struck Hammann with a knife he took from a sheath on his leg, according to court documents. He pulled the hair of another woman, Theadora H. Hunsinger, and threw her onto the ground as she tried to flee the violence. Hammann told police that he yelled at Kelly to distract him, so that Hunsinger could escape, court documents say.
When sheriff’s deputies arrived, Kelly allegedly threw a bookshelf at Deputy Eric Cramer, injuring the officer’s wrist. Then Kelly dived through the living room window, shattering the glass.
During an interview with detectives conducted with an interpreter, Kelly said he stabbed “a witch” who came at him, but didn’t recall harming anyone else.
Neither Kelly nor the two stabbing victims were residents of the home, according to the sheriff’s office. They were attending a gathering, Shaver said.
A forensic mental health report by psychologist Ray Henrickson of Western State Hospital indicated that Kelly’s reported symptoms during the attack were consistent with literature and reports on methamphetamine use. That includes paranoia and other delusional ideations, out of body experiences and hallucinations.
