It is almost unimaginable to think of having to stand just feet away from a murderer – let alone a murderer who took someone precious away from you and your family forever. But that is what West Seattleites Pam Reside Leach (first photo, left), her husband Jeff Leach (second photo, left), and their teenage son Joey Leach did, with quiet but firm bravery, as they spoke during an emotional hearing before King County Superior Court Judge Michael Fox a short time ago. This was the first part of the sentencing hearing for Brian Walsh (at right in both photos above), who pleaded guilty in August (WSB coverage here) to second-degree murder in the beating/stabbing death of Pam’s developmentally and physically disabled brother “Benny” Reside (photo right) in April 2007 at Cal-Mor Circle in Morgan Junction. The hearing had to be split into two sessions because of a medical emergency for a member of the defense team; Pam and her family asked that today’s date be kept, rather than entirely postponed till later, because other family and friends had flown in to be present. We will add details from this afternoon’s testimony to this story a bit later; the second half of the hearing is set for December 5th, and it was reiterated today that the prosecution is asking for the longest sentence possible, 18 years and 4 months, while the defense is seeking the low end of the scale, 14 years and 2 months. ADDED SATURDAY MORNING: Excerpts from what Jeff, Joey, and Pam Leach told the judge – and the killer – in court, and what the judge wanted them to know as the day’s proceedings concluded:

Judge Fox spoke at the hearing’s start and finish — first, he apologized to those in the courtroom that circumstances had forced the hearing to be split, while also acknowledging that there was no choice, given the emergency that had befallen a member of the defense team. After he and his staff set the date for the hearing’s continuation, the prosecutor named everyone who was in the courtroom from, and supporting, the Leach family.

Then, Jeff Leach, the victim’s brother-in-law, who said he did not want to re-read a letter he had written to the court, but did want to add “a couple of comments”:

“I have never confronted a brutal killer before, standing feet away from me, and it is very important I do this, though, for Pam, for Joey, for society, especially for Benny. … It’s been a year and a half now since Brian beat Benny to death, brutally. It’s no easier to understand now than April 15th, 2007. The effects on our family have been overwhelming. None of us sleep right; we have less trust for people and society. Not a single day goes by when this murder case is not a major family topic.

“We have little interest in the activities we used to love. My wife lost her best friend to a vicious predator. I watched her do everything in her power to help her brother have a stable life … then to watch Brian take that life away. She has been fighting all her life to protect Benny, and she continues that fight today. She lives with terrible guilt with the thought she should have been able to do more, to protect Benny from Brian.

“It is hard to judge the total impact to Joey, our son. He has lost a very important member of his small family. He is much quieter and, as he puts it, ‘colder’ as he tries to cope. It hurts him to watch his mother suffer.

“It is very difficult to understand how and why this happened, what kind of person preys on someone like Benny. … We do not understand, but know we cannot allow Brian to ever do this again. Don’t ever let him free to do this again.”

At this point, the judge explained that he did not have the power to impose a sentence beyond the maximum level specified in the law for second-degree murder, because of a Supreme Court decision several years ago: “I want you to understand I am without that power.” The prosecutor clarified that the family wasn’t asking for an “exceptional” sentence, but rather, for the maximum possible.

Next, the Leaches’ teenage son Joey spoke. Quietly and stoically, he recalled memories of going to the store with his uncle for treats, long before the injury that put Benny Reside in a wheelchair, and described him as a “kind, friendly person” who changed when Walsh came into his life. “He was more secretive than he’d been, it seemed to be almost as if he felt something was changing in his life … I thought something might happen eventually, but never to this extent.”

He also explained how the murder, and dealing with its aftermath, has affected his parents: “You can see the changes that happened in my parents. My mom, much quieter, must less trusting of people … my dad, quieter … the entire family has become a lot more depressed. This has definitely been a hard experience for us.”

Finally, after brief testimony of support from a family friend, Pam Leach spoke. She recounted what we had first shared in the story we brought you before Walsh’s plea hearing – growing up watching out for her little brother, and trying to intervene to protect him from abuse: “I saw how the rest of the world treated him because he wasn’t given the same gifts as us.”

At this point, the judge asked for a little more backstory on Benny, at this point. She explained he was considered developmentally disabled “from a very young age … although that’s not the word they used back then” and hurt in many ways by teachers and even other kids. “All he wanted out of this world was to have people love him, and to be able to trust people. He wanted a friend so badly, he put his trust into the wrong people … and this (befriending his killer) was the last choice he got to make. …

“I hurt so badly in my heart and soul every day for what was done to him … How could Benny have defended himself against Brian? He couldn’t. He had just gotten a scooter chair (a few months earlier) … he took a bad fall when he moved into that apartment, that’s why he was in that chair. Every time I drive by my brother’s apartment building, it’s like a knife in my heart …” Then, addressing Walsh, she said, “All Benny wanted was a friend. He gave you a place to live and sleep and he fed you, and you thank him by strangling, stomping him, cutting him with fragments of glass … that’s like doing that to a child, somebody who can’t defend themselves. It still absolutely shocks me every time I think about it.”

To the judge again, “The rest of the world needs to be protected from him.” Holding up a photo of Benny, she said, “This is my little brother. I don’t get him back. The last time I saw him, about a week before he was killed, I turned around at the last minute and said, I love you, Benny. He said, I love you too, Pam. Then I got the phone call, on April 15th (2007) …”

To the judge, she said, “Please don’t let him out to do this to somebody else.”

To her brother’s killer, she said, “I will never forgive you, Brian – the rest of the world may tell me it’s healthier, but no, I won’t, because I can control this, I can control never forgiving you.”

Concluding the afternoon’s proceedings, Judge Fox had a message for the Leach family and their relatives and friends in the courtroom: “I know there is an expectation there will be closure, and that the judge will have words of wisdom and comfort to help you deal with this … I don’t have those answers. Certain things are unanswerable in life, and I’m afraid, for me, this is one of them.”

Walsh was led back out of the courtroom, and the family gathered to talk about what’s next, including the conclusion of the hearing, currently set for Judge Fox’s courtroom at 11 am December 5th.