Champion given five life sentences
By Kat Russell, Reporter
The Paducah Sun
January 27, 2017
http://www.paducahsun.com/news/local/champion-given-five-life-sentences/article_e89c73c2-5b14-11e7-bd7c-10604b9f0f42.html
CADIZ — "Our lives will forever be divided into before and after Oct. 26, 2014, when you decided to take three precious lives — Joy, Lindsey and Emily. ... You planned what you would do, and you carried it out."
Judy Williams spoke those words to her nephew, Ryan Champion, during his high-emotion sentencing hearing Friday in Trigg Circuit Court.
Champion, 38, pleaded guilty in December to four counts of murder and one count of kidnapping. He admitted to his involvement in the deaths of his father, Lindsey Champion, 62; his mother, Joy Champion, 60; his sister, Emily Champion, 31; and his alleged accomplice, Vito Riservato, 22, of Hopkinsville.
Police believe Champion and Riservato plotted together in a murder-for-hire scheme, killing Champion's family before Champion turned the gun on his co-conspirator, killing him.
He was sentenced Friday to five life sentences, four of which carried no possibility of probation or parole. The sentences were met with audible, heaving sobs from the family members who packed the gallery.
During the hearing, Champion sat silently and expressionless, listening to statements from surviving family members, as large photographs of his slain mother, father and sister smiled at those seated in the gallery. He offered no words of remorse or apology for what he'd done.
Williams, Joy Champion's older sister, was first to speak.
"I cry every day wondering what my sister thought in those last few seconds of her life, when she walked into the basement and saw you standing there with a gun in your hand," she said to Champion. "The shock and disbelief she must have felt to see her son standing there, knowing that she was going to die by his hand.
"There is no punishment great enough for what you've done. Our family is broken and devastated and will never recover. We will always be living one day at a time."
Williams remembered her sister as her best friend -- "the only one in the world who understood me," she said. She spoke of their challenging childhood, watching their mother suffer from brain cancer, and how she took care of her little sister.
"She called me her guardian angel," Williams said.
Williams also spoke of her brother-in-law Lindsey Champion, describing him as a kind and compassionate man, and she remembered her niece Emily Champion, who was enjoying success in the field of equine medicine.
"They deserved more time, more memories, and so did we," she said. "And here you sit. I know you have no sorrow and no remorse. Your only thoughts are of yourself.
"The remainder of your life will be in a place with bars, locked doors and razor wire. You will never take a breath of free air. You will never have someone that loves you fix your favorite meal for your birthday. You will never have anyone care about you. ... You murdered the three that cared the most for you, and you murdered all those feelings of those of that were left behind on Oct. 26, 2014. What a waste."
Lisa Champion, Lindsey Champion's younger sister, spoke of that Sunday morning when her brother, sister-in-law and niece were killed. Living just across the street, she recalled hearing the sounds of gunshots and finding her family members dead in their home.
"Frozen in my mind are the images of Lindsey, Joy and Emily in that house, that same house that once harbored joyful memories," she said.
Everything, she said, reminds her of the family members she mourns.
"Sunday mornings, I wish I could just leap from my life," she said, adding she can't help but relive that Sunday over and over again.
"The words 'gun' and 'bullet' cause me to flinch, knowing that my family was killed by such. ... I cannot even use grey duct tape anymore, because when I see grey duct tape all I see is the image of Emily -- her face and head taped up ... her little hands taped up like mittens."
Lisa Champion remembered her brother as a man who "could do no wrong," describing him as mild and meek-mannered. She recalled working with her brother on their farm and how he always gave her sound advice.
As for Joy Champion, she said, "I lost my confidant ... not just a sister-in-law, she was a best friend."
Lisa Champion also spoke of her niece, Emily Champion, remembering her as a "towheaded rascal," who she taught to ride and show horses. "I'm not the same person I was before Oct. 26, 2014," she continued.
"The loss of my family fuels my daily sobbing. ... I go without sleep for days, and there are some days I don't want to do anything but sleep. I have nightmares, and I have day-mares of my family's deaths. I have guilt if I laugh because I think 'my family can no longer laugh.'"
Lindsey Champion's brother, Loren Champion, was the last to speak, echoing many of the sentiments his sister expressed. Loren also carried a message of forgiveness, saying it took him a year to forgive Champion, but he did because it was the Christian thing to do and was what his brother would have wanted.
"There are no words, nothing the defense can do to change what this defendant has done, and what he's caused," Commonwealth Attorney Carrie Ovey-Wiggins told the court following the family's statements. "The pain and the loss that he is responsible for is unspeakable and unfathomable."
Following the hearing, Ovey-Wiggins said she was satisfied with the conclusion of the case.
"This case was settled because it was what was best for the family," she said. "If the case had gone to trial, and he had been given the death penalty, the family would have had to endure years of appeals. With this plea agreement, there is certainty that Ryan Champion will be incarcerated for the rest of his life."
Judy Williams spoke those words to her nephew, Ryan Champion, during his high-emotion sentencing hearing Friday in Trigg Circuit Court.
Champion, 38, pleaded guilty in December to four counts of murder and one count of kidnapping. He admitted to his involvement in the deaths of his father, Lindsey Champion, 62; his mother, Joy Champion, 60; his sister, Emily Champion, 31; and his alleged accomplice, Vito Riservato, 22, of Hopkinsville.
Police believe Champion and Riservato plotted together in a murder-for-hire scheme, killing Champion's family before Champion turned the gun on his co-conspirator, killing him.
He was sentenced Friday to five life sentences, four of which carried no possibility of probation or parole. The sentences were met with audible, heaving sobs from the family members who packed the gallery.
During the hearing, Champion sat silently and expressionless, listening to statements from surviving family members, as large photographs of his slain mother, father and sister smiled at those seated in the gallery. He offered no words of remorse or apology for what he'd done.
Williams, Joy Champion's older sister, was first to speak.
"I cry every day wondering what my sister thought in those last few seconds of her life, when she walked into the basement and saw you standing there with a gun in your hand," she said to Champion. "The shock and disbelief she must have felt to see her son standing there, knowing that she was going to die by his hand.
"There is no punishment great enough for what you've done. Our family is broken and devastated and will never recover. We will always be living one day at a time."
Williams remembered her sister as her best friend -- "the only one in the world who understood me," she said. She spoke of their challenging childhood, watching their mother suffer from brain cancer, and how she took care of her little sister.
"She called me her guardian angel," Williams said.
Williams also spoke of her brother-in-law Lindsey Champion, describing him as a kind and compassionate man, and she remembered her niece Emily Champion, who was enjoying success in the field of equine medicine.
"They deserved more time, more memories, and so did we," she said. "And here you sit. I know you have no sorrow and no remorse. Your only thoughts are of yourself.
"The remainder of your life will be in a place with bars, locked doors and razor wire. You will never take a breath of free air. You will never have someone that loves you fix your favorite meal for your birthday. You will never have anyone care about you. ... You murdered the three that cared the most for you, and you murdered all those feelings of those of that were left behind on Oct. 26, 2014. What a waste."
Lisa Champion, Lindsey Champion's younger sister, spoke of that Sunday morning when her brother, sister-in-law and niece were killed. Living just across the street, she recalled hearing the sounds of gunshots and finding her family members dead in their home.
"Frozen in my mind are the images of Lindsey, Joy and Emily in that house, that same house that once harbored joyful memories," she said.
Everything, she said, reminds her of the family members she mourns.
"Sunday mornings, I wish I could just leap from my life," she said, adding she can't help but relive that Sunday over and over again.
"The words 'gun' and 'bullet' cause me to flinch, knowing that my family was killed by such. ... I cannot even use grey duct tape anymore, because when I see grey duct tape all I see is the image of Emily -- her face and head taped up ... her little hands taped up like mittens."
Lisa Champion remembered her brother as a man who "could do no wrong," describing him as mild and meek-mannered. She recalled working with her brother on their farm and how he always gave her sound advice.
As for Joy Champion, she said, "I lost my confidant ... not just a sister-in-law, she was a best friend."
Lisa Champion also spoke of her niece, Emily Champion, remembering her as a "towheaded rascal," who she taught to ride and show horses. "I'm not the same person I was before Oct. 26, 2014," she continued.
"The loss of my family fuels my daily sobbing. ... I go without sleep for days, and there are some days I don't want to do anything but sleep. I have nightmares, and I have day-mares of my family's deaths. I have guilt if I laugh because I think 'my family can no longer laugh.'"
Lindsey Champion's brother, Loren Champion, was the last to speak, echoing many of the sentiments his sister expressed. Loren also carried a message of forgiveness, saying it took him a year to forgive Champion, but he did because it was the Christian thing to do and was what his brother would have wanted.
"There are no words, nothing the defense can do to change what this defendant has done, and what he's caused," Commonwealth Attorney Carrie Ovey-Wiggins told the court following the family's statements. "The pain and the loss that he is responsible for is unspeakable and unfathomable."
Following the hearing, Ovey-Wiggins said she was satisfied with the conclusion of the case.
"This case was settled because it was what was best for the family," she said. "If the case had gone to trial, and he had been given the death penalty, the family would have had to endure years of appeals. With this plea agreement, there is certainty that Ryan Champion will be incarcerated for the rest of his life."
