A judge said Tuesday that the 20-year jail sentence that she handed down to 71-year-old Roy Roger Pittman, who admitted to killing his adopted daughter and shooting his adopted son, would stand.
Kanawha Circuit Judge Joanna Tabit told Pittman's new attorney, Herb Hively, that she had already considered Pittman's old age and failing health when she sentenced him in June. Hively had asked the judge to allow Pittman to serve his sentence on home confinement.
On May 24, 2013, Pittman entered 15-year-old Brittany Pittman's bedroom at their home on Keystone Drive and shot her in the chest with a 20-gauge shotgun. Pittman then walked next door, reloading the shotgun on the way, before shooting Matthew Pittman, who was then 18 years old, in the high. When police arrived, Roy Pittman turned the gun on himself and shot himself in the face.
On Tuesday, Pittman's wife, Wanda, spoke as she leaned against the wood that separates the area where the public is allowed in the courtroom from the attorneys and judge.
"Roy's health is really, really bad. He gets his own check ... he can pay his own way and that way the state wouldn't have to keep him," she said, trying to convince Tabit to let her husband out of jail.
Pittman's family has supported him throughout his criminal case, blaming the shootings on a change in his prescription medications and a stroke, among other reasons. They say Pittman would never have done this in his right mind, and repeated those claims after Tuesday's hearing.
Assistant Kanawha prosecutor Jennifer Gordon pointed out that Tabit could have sentenced Pittman to 40 years in jail on the second-degree murder charge and second-degree attempted murder charge, which he pleaded guilty to in a deal with prosecutors. That deal dismissed a first-degree murder charge and other more serious charges.
Gordon added that Pittman will be eligible for release after serving just under 12 years of his 20-year sentence.
Pittman appeared by video from Potomac Highlands Regional Jail. He told the judge he would "like to get out and continue with my life and take care of my kids."
The judge, though, told Pittman his original sentence would stand.
"Mr. Pittman, it gives me pause to hear you say you want to go out on home confinement to take care of your kids and family, sir -- certainly given the circumstances surrounding this case, which continue to trouble this court," Tabit said. "Four months ago, I heard the testimony of Matthew Pittman, and I heard it again today and, obviously, he says it would be great to see you, and I appreciate that.
"But I continue to be concerned about this peculiar family dynamic -- such that everyone that is related to, including the adopted mother and adopted brother of Brittany, is on this side of the courtroom advancing and supporting your cause to be released," the judge said. "And I'm also troubled by the fact that the victim in this case doesn't have anyone to speak for her."
Reach Kate White at kate.white@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-1723 or follow @KateLWhite on Twitter.