By: Staci DaSilva
sdasilva@kcautv.com
The 23–year old man who beat a Sioux City man to death and nearly killed a woman in her home learned his fate on Thursday. James Kroll, Jr. will spend most of the rest of his life behind bars.
He was sentenced to 75 years in prison for the murder of 54–year old Jeffrey Moravek and the brutal attempted murder of his girlfriend, Mary Tope in June of last year.
Kroll entered a packed courtroom Thursday afternoon at the Woodbury County Courthouse. Family members of Moravek, Tope, and Kroll himself were highly emotional.
Moravek's brother, sister and two daughters took the stand to speak to the man they called "Jimmy" for the last time.
"That prolonged kind of suffering is really what I feel you deserve because that's what you've done to my family. That's what you've done to the Hendersons and the Topes. Jimmy, you were the last person to see my dad alive and well and you don't deserve it," said Jeff's daughter, Allison.
"The verb you chose is bludgeon. Bludgeon! That word alone makes me cringe. It is ugly and dark. It is a devastating word," said Ashley Moravek, Jeff's other daughter.
Kroll pleaded guilty to second degree murder last month and his sentence follows his plea agreement. Kroll also spoke at Thursday's sentencing, saying he was suffering from the side effects of anti-depressants and K2 synthetic drugs when he brutally beat the couple in their home.
An incident the judge called the most "violent and horrific crime he's seen in his career."
"I pray every day, if only I could give my life in exchange for a man who didn't have to lose his life. To give Mary and Jeff their lives back to normal," said Kroll.
Kroll said he planned to commit suicide the night of the incident. Jeff Moravek's family repeatedly said that Jeff was a positive presence in Kroll's life and would have helped him had he asked for it.
The court ordered Kroll to also pay 150–thousand dollars in restitution to Moravek's family.
