Michael Craver: 'I Know It's My Fault. I'm Sorry'
Man Who Killed Teen Sentenced To Minimum 12 Years In Prison
POSTED: 10:27 am EDT March 28, 2011
UPDATED: 5:18 pm EDT March 28, 2011
UPDATED: 5:18 pm EDT March 28, 2011
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LEXINGTON, N.C. -- A man accused of throwing a paving stone through a car window last August, killing a 17-year-old girl, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder on Monday.Michael Craver was charged with first-degree murder in the death of Shelby Chisom, a student at North Davidson High School.A judge sentenced him to a minimum of 12 years in prison. Craver's attorney, David Freedman, said he could have faced anywhere from 12 to 15 years in prison as a part of the plea deal. Craver was also ordered to pay $24,000 in restitution to cover medical bills and the cost of Chisom's funeral.“Every aspect of our lives changed forever," Chisom's father, Mark Chisom, told the judge during the sentencing hearing.“While other moms searched for outfits for senior pictures, I was looking for a tombstone," Lisa Chisom, Shelby's mother, told the judge.Chisom's family members declined to speak to WXII following the hearing. One unidentified woman told WXII's Bill O'Neil that the sentence wasn't enough.Crying loudly in the courtroom, Craver offered an emotional apology for his crime.“I know it’s my fault. I have to live with that for the rest of my life. I’m so sorry," he said.
State attorneys decided to not seek the death penalty in the case after they said they had no evidence the incident was aggravated.Freedman said Chisom accepted the plea to avoid the possibility of spending his life in prison if found guilty on the first-degree charge.Chisom was in the passenger seat of a vehicle that was leaving a party. She suffered damage to her liver and later died at the hospital.Craver is the cousin of Chisom's ex-boyfriend.Craver, who was 21 at the time of the incident, had been out of jail after posting bond.
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