Christmas pleads guilty to murder
Toolbox
PATRICK McARDLE STAFF WRITER - Published: November 7, 2009
BENNINGTON – A Shaftsbury man faces at least three decades in prison after pleading guilty to murdering his former brother-in-law and sexually assaulting three children.
Michael Christmas, 42, was asked during a hearing Friday in Bennington District Court for his plea to the charge of the second-degree murder of Ronald Wilkins, 36, of North Bennington.
"Guilty, your honor," Christmas said.
Christmas has been in prison since the day he shot Wilkins more than two years ago in Shaftsbury. Police said Christmas rode his bicycle from his home to his in-laws' home, shot Wilkins, rode home and waited for police.
According to an affidavit filed in the case, Christmas decided to shoot Wilkins, who had once been married to the sister of Christmas' wife, because he believed a woman who he had sexually assaulted when she was a child was about to make accusations to police.
"Christmas, believing his life was going to be turned upside down, decided he was going to kill the person who was his biggest pain. According to Christmas, this was what set the series of events into motion that led to him killing Ronald Wilkins," the affidavit said.
On Friday, Christmas pleaded guilty not just to the murder but to three charges of sexual assault. Under the plea agreement, the state and Christmas' attorneys have agreed that his sentence will be a minimum of 30 years in prison. Christmas could be sentenced to a maximum term of life in prison.
Christmas appeared in the Bennington courtroom wearing a bulletproof vest. Bennington Police Chief Richard Gauthier and the Vermont State Police's Shaftsbury barracks' Station Commander Reg Trayah were in the courtroom with more than a dozen men, inside and out, under their command.
When Christmas was arraigned in August 2007, a confrontation between his relatives and a woman police identified as Wilkins' fiancée led to shouting and pushing that caused police to clear out the courtroom. A television news camera in the courtroom recorded the incident and the footage was played nationally.
Judge David Suntag started Friday's hearing by saying that he "cannot and will not tolerate" another outburst like the one in August 2007.
Wilkins' fiancée was in the courtroom Friday and while she wept as Christmas admitted to the murder, the hearing continued uninterrupted.
Christmas showed no emotion during the hearing and mostly answered yes or no to questions from Suntag.
Before Christmas can be sentenced, the Vermont Department of Corrections will conduct a pre-sentence investigation.
After the hearing, Marthage said the state had reduced the charge against Christmas from first-degree to second-degree murder after lengthy discussions with Wilkins' family and the victims of the sexual assaults.
"We had been looking for, as part of a plea, (a prison sentence of) 35 to life anyway. We were willing to offer him 35 to life if he took responsibility for some of the sex cases and the murder. He had come back with a lower number than 30. I said the lowest I would go would be 30 and I actually didn't even make that offer until I had some discussions with the family about it. The feeling was that this (court case) has been (going on for) a long time," she said.
Marthage pointed out that Christmas would not be eligible for parole until he's older than 70.
Both Marthage and Frederick Bragdon, one of two court-appointed attorneys representing Christmas, said last week that each side wanted to reach a plea agreement to keep the victims of the sexual assaults from having to testify in what could have been two trials.
If the Christmas case had proceeded to trial, it would likely have been split in two with the murder case being tried first and the sexual charges tried later.
Bragdon and Kevin Griffin, Christmas' other attorney, declined to comment Friday except to say they did not expect Christmas' sentencing hearing to be scheduled until 2010.
patrick.mcardle@rutlandherald.com