GREELEY, Colo.—A man who stabbed his brother with a hunting knife and then refused to call 911 as his brother bled to death was sentenced to 18 months in prison.
Frederick Robb, 23, had locked himself in a bathroom with his brother, John Ray Robb, who was unconscious after being stabbed Dec. 3. He later told police he believed he could “fix it” himself.
Judge James Hartmann said Monday that Robb needed time in prison to think further about his actions, rejecting prosecutors’ request for a probationary sentence for Robb’s guilty plea last month to criminally negligent homicide.
“There’s no doubt that you loved one another, but your relationship was so out of the norm, I can’t even put it into words,” Hartmann said. “It was very … unusual.”
Frederick Robb and John Ray Robb, 18, had both been drinking.
Frederick Robb’s attorney, public defender Jeri Shepherd, said her client acted in self defense. She said John Ray Robb, who was serving a deferred sentence for assaulting his brother, had grabbed the knife first and handled it several times before the stabbing.
“The most difficult part is not having my brother around,” Robb said before sentencing.
