Philipsburg man found guilty of murder in stabbing sentenced to more a decade in prison

A Philipsburg man was sentenced Thursday to at least 13 years in prison for the fatal stabbing of a man after an argument about a Bluetooth speaker, a killing described by a Centre County prosecutor as “senseless.”

Fernando Rosado-Guzman, 36, was sentenced by Senior Judge Pamela Ruest to a maximum of 26 years in state prison for the killing of Brian C. Lyncha. He was found guilty by a jury in August of third-degree murder.

Rosado-Guzman received credit for nearly 14 months served in the Centre County Correctional Facility. He is not eligible for early release.

The father of two apologized to Lyncha’s family before his sentence was handed down, telling them the killing will “haunt me for the rest of my life.” He said he was “devastated” when investigators told him Lyncha died.

Lyncha’s father and two aunts had no visible reaction inside the courtroom.

“I am no killer, and I am not an evil man,” Rosado-Guzman said. “To be very clear with everyone, not for a split second did I ever — and I mean ever — have the intention on killing Brian Lyncha.”

Rosado-Guzman claimed he stabbed Lyncha in self-defense, an assertion rejected by the jury and prosecutors. Centre County Deputy District Attorney Megan McGoron cast Rosado-Guzman as the one who escalated a verbal fight into a physical one by throwing the first punch.

Rosado-Guzman said he believed Lyncha “wanted to end my life along these tracks that day.” Both men were intoxicated during the fight.

“I am sorry for your loss and I hope y’all can forgive me,” Rosado-Guzman told Lyncha’s family. “As well God and the lord Jesus Christ.”

The sentence prompted a rare public statement from Centre County District Attorney Bernie Cantorna, who said Lyncha’s family was “disappointed” with Ruest’s decision. Prosecutors sought a 20- to 40-year sentence.

“The state police did a thorough and complete investigation and their hard work led to the conviction in this case,” Cantorna said. “This is a case where the jury was seriously contemplating a first-degree murder conviction that would have resulted in a life sentence.”

A jury of eight women and four men found Rosado-Guzman not guilty of the top charge after listening to four days of testimony. They deliberated for more than nine hours over the rare length of two days; most juries take one.

A first-degree murder conviction would have meant the jury found the killing was malicious and carried out with intent. Instead, jurors found the killing was malicious but without intent. At least two attended Rosado-Guzman’s sentencing.

Centre County First Assistant Public Defender Lora Rupert said she and Rosado-Guzman plan to discuss whether an appeal is appropriate. She requested a seven to 20-year sentence, in line with a plea agreement offered by prosecutors before trial.

“This has been a long process for all parties involved and while we can’t change what happened that day, we can only move forward,” Rupert wrote in a text message to the Centre Daily Times after the hearing. “I believe we made a cogent and compelling argument that although resulted in a third-degree conviction, he was originally facing a first-degree murder charge with a mandatory life sentence.”

Rosado-Guzman and a friend bumped into Lyncha — all three men knew each other — while walking in broad daylight on the train tracks in Rush Township to buy more beer. The August 2022 fight broke out, McGoron wrote in a memo to Ruest, after Rosado-Guzman “didn’t like the answer he got about the speaker.”

John Bratton testified Rosado-Guzman threw the first punch and tackled Lyncha, 41, of Philipsburg, down an embankment. He later testified he saw a silver flash — which he later assumed was Rosado-Guzman’s knife — and Lyncha then staggered off, eventually falling to his stomach and dying in the yard of a nearby neighbor. More than three inches of a four-inch pocket knife blade penetrated Lyncha’s heart.

Rosado-Guzman and Bratton then went to buy more beer. The former did not call 911 for more than 40 minutes. He instead drank a beer in the woods. His decisions, McGoron wrote, were “reprehensible.”

She also said the violence carried out by Rosado-Guzman was not an aberration. He has multiple convictions dating back nearly a decade for battery, disorderly conduct and harassment.

One of Lyncha’s aunts, in a letter read aloud by McGoron, wrote her nephew was “like a son to me.” Another wrote Lyncha’s family is “still struggling with this brutal murder.”

Rosado-Guzman waved to those who attended the hearing in support as he exited the courtroom. Some of Lyncha’s family members, meanwhile, wiped away tears.

“I believe this sentence is appropriate in this case given that the life has been lost for absolutely no reason. It’s a tragedy for everyone involved,” Ruest said. “There’s not much more to say other than that.”

Centre Daily Times reporter Josh Moyer contributed to this article.