FORT BRAGG, N.C. — A Michigan soldier who stabbed his brother-in-law to death and seriously injured his wife because his lawyers said he was angry they were having an affair was sentenced Friday to life in prison without parole.
A military jury at Fort Bragg gave 27-year-old Detroit native Spc. Eric A. Mead his punishment a day after finding him guilty of premeditated murder, attempted premeditated murder and failure to obey a lawful order, The Fayetteville Observer reported.
Mead didn't testify during the weeklong court-martial, but spoke to jurors before sentencing.
"I killed my brother and my best friend. There's no punishment greater than living with that," he said. "I'm not the man I thought I was. I thought I could handle anything, and I tried to. I was wrong."
Mead sneaked into his wife's house in May 2010 a day after being told by his superiors to have no contact with her. He stabbed his brother-in-law, 26-year-old Stephen Harris, in the back and cheek, then as his wife tried to stop the attack, he knocked her unconscious and stabbed her five times in the neck and back, authorities said.
Harris died the day after the attack from a stroke brought on by his injuries, investigators said. His wife, Melissa Younce-Mead, said she still suffered so badly from her injuries she cannot work.
Mead's lawyers said the stabbings happened after he snapped when he found out about the occasional affair between his wife and his brother-in-law, which began three years earlier.
In his statement, Mead apologized to Harris' family. He said he can't remember what happened that day, but that is no justification for the killing.
"I wish that I could take his place and I really wish that he had killed me," Mead said. "I can't even begin to explain how sorry I am."
Harris' mother said she took little from the apology from her son's killer.
She said her son was a dedicated soldier who was deployed to the Middle East five times. He continued to give to others, even after his death. Five of his organs were donated to four different people.
She said she sought a just punishment for taking away a fun-loving man with a good sense of humor.
"I want life without parole," Sheryl Harris said. "He was a cowardly person. Everyone made mistakes, but nothing justifies murder."
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