LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Two men accused in connection with killing a couple while riding ATVs along the Louisville Loop in 2019 both pleaded guilty to multiple charges in Jefferson County Circuit Court on Monday.
But after more than two years of waiting, it leaves the families of the man and woman who died in the incident heartbroken. They feel they didn't get the justice or closure they deserved.
"For them not to face any consequences for their actions is devastating to us," said Kelly Miller, the aunt of the man killed. "It can be wiped clean, erased from their records like it never happened. But we don't get to erase that. This is something that will scar our hearts forever."
John Rosenbarger V and his girlfriend, Tatiana Cahill, were sitting on the floodwall on Lower River Rd. on June 30, 2019, when two ATV drivers rode by. One of the drivers hit the couple, killing them, and then fleeing the scene.
On Monday, Judge Angela McCormick Bisig accepted guilty pleas from Jacob Crain and Matthew Cook on counts of failing to stop and render aid, and tampering with evidence.
Jacob Crain, the driver who struck the couple, accepted a five-year sentence. Matthew Cook, who drove alongside him that night, will serve a three-year sentence. But with no prior criminal histories, both were granted the right to serve their time through diversion, meaning they'll be supervised consistently -- similarly to probation -- but without spending a second in jail. Also, charges will be erased off their records if conditions are met.
"You shouldn't have been up there," grandfather John Rosenbarger III said at the pre-trial conference, looking right at Crain. "I don't care what anybody says, you're not getting what you deserve. I don't think you understand what you took from us."
Court records show that Crain and Cook were both facing multiple felony charges in the case, originally including charges of reckless homicide.
But The Office of the Commonwealth's Attorney told WHAS11 that months ago, a grand jury chose not to indict on homicide charges, citing a lack of clear-cut evidence to prove them.
Thus, family members didn't get the trial they wanted.
"They get to carry on with their lives. They get to get married. They get to have children. We don't get that. We get an empty seat at the Christmas dinner table," Miller said.
Prosecutor Kristi Gray explained:
"In this particular case, the grand jury listened to the information and decided that their conduct didn't amount to reckless or wanton conduct, so there was no homicide," Gray said. "What the grand jury determined was [that it was] an accident."
Fearing this would be the result, Rosenbarger's family first spoke with WHAS11 the week before the court date, trying to urge the Commonwealth Attorney's Office that there has to be another way.
"Our family needs a trial," said Rosenbarger III, standing next to his grandson's memorial on Jan. 25. "We want to see these guys talking to twelve people, convincing them that they'd done is okay. What the Commonwealth's Attorney is suggesting is not justice. It's not justice for us at all. We don't get to walk away from this, we have to carry this the rest of our lives."
First Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Erwin Roberts, also serving as a spokesperson for the Office, said they recommended both men be indicted for reckless homicide months ago, but the grand jury denied it. Instead, the jury chose to hone in only on charges of tampering with evidence and leaving the scene of the incident.
Last week, Roberts told us in this case, the plea deal is the best option for conviction -- and the closest the family will come to justice in this case.
"The system has failed us. There are laws that need to be changed, as far as ATVs and four-wheelers," Rosenbarger III said.
Meanwhile last week, John's mother Kim Rosenbarger told us she was demanding better. She said her family needed more for full closure.
"I don't want them to make the decisions on my son's life. I want the public to, which is a jury," Rosenbarger said.
Both defendants will head to the Department of Probation and Parole to sign off on the conditions of the plea deal. They will be monitored throughout their sentences and will have to make regular check-ins with the court system.
Judge McCormick Bisig told both defendants they'll be on very 'thin ice', and any violations of the diversion program will allow the court to revoke those years.
In Kentucky, negligent vehicular homicide isn't a recognized criminal charge. Gray says the family does have the option to pursue this case in civil court.
Contact reporter Isaiah Kim-Martinez at ikimmartin@whas11.com. You can follow him on Twitter (@isaiah_km) and Facebook.
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