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SOUTH BEND — With tears streaming down her face and her voice cracking, Dellia Castile apologized to one of her grandsons, saying she was not aware of the heinous acts of violence her son, Terry Sturgis, was committing.
“I’m sorry if I let you down,” Castile said Thursday at her sentencing. “I didn’t know I had to pay that much attention. I feel too I was a victim because I didn’t know half the stuff that was going on.”
But Castile’s 15-year-old grandson spoke minutes earlier. He said that by not notifying authorities, Castile allowed the abuse from Sturgis to go on for years, culminating in the Nov. 3, 2011, beating death of 10-year-old Tramelle Sturgis in the family’s West Washington Street home.
“I had to suffer and my grandma let it go on and chose my father over the grandchildren,” he said. “It was a crisis situation with my brothers, and I had to keep it to myself. I have empathy for some things. She didn’t abuse me, but she should still be held accountable.”
He added that accountability should come in the form of home detention for his grandmother.
But St. Joseph County Superior Court Judge Jane Woodward-Miller went through the horrific abuse handed down from Terry Sturgis to the boys — and Castile’s role in not reporting it — before sentencing the 53-year-old Castile to 50 years in prison. A jury found her guilty during an emotional five-day trial that ended Oct. 10.
Castile was sentenced to two 10-year terms on Class B felony neglect of a dependent charges and a 30-year term for a conviction of Class A felony neglect of a dependent. Woodward-Miller chose to have the sentences run consecutively.
Castile had faced a 25- to 55-year term.
“I don’t know if there has ever been a case that has broken the heart of a community like this case,” Woodward-Miller said. “There was multiple years of pain and harm. These injuries reflect a brutality that is beyond our comprehension.”
Sturgis was convicted in May of murdering Tramelle and of abusing two other sons in a systematic style of torture that included regular beatings and the use of various implements — a clothing iron, a heated screwdriver, ignited roach spray — to burn his sons. Castile was never alleged to have harmed any of the nine children living in her home.
Sturgis was sentenced to 140 years in prison.
Woodward-Miller went through emotional details Thursday to explain how intertwined Castile’s life was with her grandchildren, some of whom lived in the basement of the home with Sturgis. She lived upstairs with some granddaughters and claimed she did not see Sturgis and the boys often.
Woodward-Miller, though, said Castile knew and saw the beatings and never did anything. She even offered to do chores for Sturgis so, in return, he would not beat the children.
She also said that Castile would administer aid to cuts and bruises and told Sturgis that he was going to kill one of the children.
“You were involved in the beatings,” the judge said. “It’s not just that you knew what was happening, you predicted one of the children would die at his hands.”
“Despite what you saw, you never called to help your children,” she added. “You knew what would happen, and you did nothing. You knew they were in danger and you did nothing.”
Woodward-Miller said she considered a past felony for Castile that resulted in a two-year prison sentence, the well being of the grandchildren and, most importantly, “What I considered was ongoing harm to the children.”
St. Joseph County deputy prosecutor Joel Gabrielse said he believed the 50-year sentence was fair.
“No. 1, I’m glad it’s over,” he said. “It was a long journey and the sentence was appropriate.
“I’m sorry if I let you down,” Castile said Thursday at her sentencing. “I didn’t know I had to pay that much attention. I feel too I was a victim because I didn’t know half the stuff that was going on.”
“I had to suffer and my grandma let it go on and chose my father over the grandchildren,” he said. “It was a crisis situation with my brothers, and I had to keep it to myself. I have empathy for some things. She didn’t abuse me, but she should still be held accountable.”
He added that accountability should come in the form of home detention for his grandmother.
But St. Joseph County Superior Court Judge Jane Woodward-Miller went through the horrific abuse handed down from Terry Sturgis to the boys — and Castile’s role in not reporting it — before sentencing the 53-year-old Castile to 50 years in prison. A jury found her guilty during an emotional five-day trial that ended Oct. 10.
Castile was sentenced to two 10-year terms on Class B felony neglect of a dependent charges and a 30-year term for a conviction of Class A felony neglect of a dependent. Woodward-Miller chose to have the sentences run consecutively.
Castile had faced a 25- to 55-year term.
“I don’t know if there has ever been a case that has broken the heart of a community like this case,” Woodward-Miller said. “There was multiple years of pain and harm. These injuries reflect a brutality that is beyond our comprehension.”
Sturgis was convicted in May of murdering Tramelle and of abusing two other sons in a systematic style of torture that included regular beatings and the use of various implements — a clothing iron, a heated screwdriver, ignited roach spray — to burn his sons. Castile was never alleged to have harmed any of the nine children living in her home.
Sturgis was sentenced to 140 years in prison.
Woodward-Miller went through emotional details Thursday to explain how intertwined Castile’s life was with her grandchildren, some of whom lived in the basement of the home with Sturgis. She lived upstairs with some granddaughters and claimed she did not see Sturgis and the boys often.
Woodward-Miller, though, said Castile knew and saw the beatings and never did anything. She even offered to do chores for Sturgis so, in return, he would not beat the children.
She also said that Castile would administer aid to cuts and bruises and told Sturgis that he was going to kill one of the children.
“You were involved in the beatings,” the judge said. “It’s not just that you knew what was happening, you predicted one of the children would die at his hands.”
“Despite what you saw, you never called to help your children,” she added. “You knew what would happen, and you did nothing. You knew they were in danger and you did nothing.”
Woodward-Miller said she considered a past felony for Castile that resulted in a two-year prison sentence, the well being of the grandchildren and, most importantly, “What I considered was ongoing harm to the children.”
St. Joseph County deputy prosecutor Joel Gabrielse said he believed the 50-year sentence was fair.
“No. 1, I’m glad it’s over,” he said. “It was a long journey and the sentence was appropriate.
