A former Fredonia man recently convicted of killing his neighbor nearly five years ago will learn his punishment Monday morning.

Jason Wells will be sentenced by Chautauqua County Court Judge John T. Ward at about 9:45 a.m. for beating and stabbing 81-year-old Ruth Fisk to death on Feb. 4, 2010. A 12-member jury found Wells guilty of the lesser charge of first-degree manslaughter after listening to 34 witnesses give their testimony over seven days of trial proceedings in July.

The 41-year-old faces a maximum prison sentence of 25 years, plus five years of post-release supervision.

“We would urge the court to impose something less than 25 (years), based upon the unique facts and circumstances of this case,” said Wells’ defense attorney, Lyle Hajdu.

“You have a fellow who is a paranoid schizophrenic. Obviously, the judge will make that decision.”

County District Attorney David Foley said he is advocating for a sentence on the higher end of the scale.

“Just given the nature of this, we think that it’s an appropriate sentence,” he added. “But, ultimately, that decision is left to the court.”

Both Hajdu and Foley indicated a member of Fisk’s family may be allowed to speak before the sentencing is handed down.

The jury of six men and six women, after nine-and-a-half hours of closed-door deliberations, concluded that Wells experienced and acted upon an extreme emotional disturbance when he killed Fisk, a retired nurse, in his apartment at Fredonia’s One Temple Square complex.

He had been indicted on a charge of second-degree murder.

“This was a troubling, difficult case for all involved,” Hajdu said in a previous OBSERVER article. “This was a senseless murder of an elderly woman by someone diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. We presented a psychiatric defense and the jury decided and agreed with the defense regarding extreme emotional disturbance, that it was paranoid delusions that drove Jason to kill.

“We’ve been wrestling with this case since 2010, and I believe Judge Ward provided for a fair trial and Mr. Foley proved the homicide.”

Foley previously told the OBSERVER that the jury’s verdict indicates they agreed Wells at least understood he was killing a person as he committed the crime.

Comments on this article may be sent to gfox@observertoday.com