He had a 'hit list.' Why family long feared man sentenced in Bucks County murder
A Bucks County man will spend at least 35 years in prison after admitting he fatally stabbed his elderly stepfather with a machete in 2022 over what he believed was a stolen inheritance.
At a hearing Friday, Bucks County Common Pleas Judge Wallace Bateman, Jr. sentenced to Brian Carey to 35 to 70 years in state prison for the murder of 77-year-old Joseph Jakimowicz, who was stabbed 10 times. He had faced a potential sentence of of 47 to 95 years.
"This was an up-close and personal murder," Bateman said.
Bateman said Carey, who will be first eligible for parole when he is 78, has expressed remorse for actions that created an "unbearable loss" for his family. They also described feeling terrorized since Carey had a “hit list” with family members names on it.
The judge also noted a recurring theme in victim impact statements and court testimony was the fear that Carey would return to violence if he were released from prison. He ordered Carey have no contact with specific family members, victim friends and witnesses who cooperated with the investigation.
The sentence was part of a negotiated agreement, where Carey pleaded guilty to third-degree murder, as well as robbery, theft, stalking and possession of an instrument of crime. In exchange he would serve at least 20 years in prison for the murder, and let Bateman decide how much time he would get for the remaining charges.
In a packed courtroom, family and friends of the victim urged the judge to impose the maximum penalty, calling the loss of Jakimowicz, a Bristol Township widower, who everyone called "J," an unimaginable tragedy that has left them fearful and untrusting of people.
"Why should he get to live his life in the future, when we can't live ours," Kelly Hopkins said.
More on the arrest of Brian Carey DA: Man who killed stepfather in Bristol Township home had 'hit list' of family members, grudge over inheritance
The murder dismantled the lives of those closest to the victim, who now have the additional burden of worrying if someday Carey will come after them next, if he were released, Kristen Hermann said.
“Can you imagine how scary that is,” she added.
Patricia Roldan-Jakimowicz said she watches every person who walks past her windows at home. She answers the door only if her husband is home. She constantly monitors the home surveillance cameras on her cell phone.
“Please help me protect my family," Roldan-Jakimowicz said.
Bristol Township police said that Carey had ongoing issues with Jakimowicz that escalated after the 2019 death of Carey’s mother.
Carey became fixated on his belief that Jakimowicz killed his mother and forged her will to cheat him out of an inheritance, according to police and family.
He became angry at family members for not supporting his efforts to have his mother's will overturned in court, and frustrated that authorities would not investigate his fraud and murder allegations, according to police, family and friends.
Carey harassed and threatened Jakimowicz for years and after his arrest police found his stepfather name on a "hit list' of family members that Carey wanted to kill.
Jakimowicz was found stabbed to death in his Winder Drive home on Feb. 15, 2022. Authorities believe Carey, who was homeless, entered the home through a rear door on Valentine's Day and attacked Jakimowicz while he was seated in a recliner.
Jakimowicz's son, also named Joseph, found his father dead when he went to the home after he was unable to contact him. His body was curled up in a fetal position near the front door, which authorities suggest show he was attempting to escape his attacker.
“The strongest man I know was lying there like a scared child, lifeless,” the younger Jakimowicz wrote in a victim impact statement.
After fatally stabbing Jakimowicz, Carey ransacked the home stealing a coin collection, $313, a laptop and cell phone, then drove away in the victim’s 2006 Chevy Trailblazer, which was found abandoned in Philadelphia on Feb. 15.
Pennsylvania State Police took Carey into custody on Feb. 16 after he was tracked to a bar in Upper Bucks County.
He was still wearing the blood-tinged clothing captured on surveillance video the day of the murder. He also had items stolen from Jakimowicz's home and a half-dozen knives in his possession, including a tactical machete with a 19-inch blade.
On Friday, a visibly emotional Carey told Bateman that he accepts that his stepfather's death was the result of his actions, but that he is not the same person as he was on Feb. 14, 2022, and that the passage of time and psychotropic medications have helped him return to his "authentic self."
“I see things now that I didn't see then," Carey said. "I see myself contributing to society because of how much I took from it."
Public defender Michael Lacson called the murder an "absolute tragedy," but that his client has the potential to be fully rehabilitated.
By all accounts, Lacson said, Carey, a father of three, and full-time electrician was a "normal human-being" until he experienced a series of life losses starting in 2012.
His alcohol use accelerated, resulting in arrests, and eventually progressed to use of methamphetamines. He also showed early signs of unaddressed mental illness, later diagnosed as schizophrenia, Lacson said.
But First Assistant District Attorney Edward Louka countered that Carey deserved the maximum prison sentence noting that he had a history of minimizing his mental health issues, and ignoring or refusing treatment before his arrest.
Louka added that recorded jail phone calls and a 27-page letter Carey wrote to Bateman has never apologized for his actions, portrays himself as the victim, continues to disparage Jakimowicz over his belief that he was cheated out of an inheritance.
“He took his life and he’s tried to take his character for the last three years," Louka said. "“No one knows what is in his head, but evidence shows he has no remorse. He is a danger.”
This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Stepson gets prison in stabbing murder of Joseph Jakimowicz
