The father of Henry Ningeok told an Anchorage judge Tuesday that the man who killed his son showed no remorse before asking the court to impose the maximum sentence allowed under a proposed plea deal -- seven years.
Ronald Ningeok sat behind the prosecutor's table, but family members attended for both victim and defendant, Donald Leroy Williams.
Williams appeared in court wearing a yellow Goose Creek Correctional Center prison uniform. He said little else than "guilty" when Superior Court Judge Michael Spaan asked for his plea on a manslaughter charge.
The state originally charged Williams with second-degree murder after he stabbed and killed his cousin Henry Ningeok, 23, in March 2013. The charge was reduced as part of a plea deal.
Witnesses told police the relatives had been drinking heavily at Williams' home in East Anchorage when they started fighting. An Anchorage police spokesperson said "Williams was quite intoxicated" at the time.
After receiving a 911 call, police rushed to the scene and found Henry Ningeok bleeding from his chest, according to court documents.
Medics pronounced him dead at 10:45 p.m., March 7, 2013. It appeared Williams stabbed the younger man once, police said.
After questioning several people and collecting evidence, police charged Williams with Henry's murder.
Attorneys said Tuesday that Williams had agreed to plead guilty to manslaughter, but the length of his sentence would be up to the judge. However, they said the maximum sentence for Williams would be capped at seven years.
Seven years is on the low end of what is generally imposed for manslaughter, according to the attorneys.
Ronald Ningeok told the judge his son would have been 25 if he was still alive, but he was "stabbed, killed, murdered." He faced Williams as he said the defendant showed no remorse for his actions.
"I'm asking for the full seven years, if that's all we can get," Ningeok said.
"It's been really hard on the family," he said. "Henry's mother passed away. She got no closure."
Judge Spaan told the father that if he doesn't like the plea deal he may reject it.
Sentencing was set for Sept. 21.