Jamestown, N.Y. man sentenced in 2015 killings

This article was originally published on GoErie.com on Aug. 22, 2017

MAYVILLE, N.Y. — A Jamestown, New York, man charged in the December 2015 deaths of his wife and stepson was sentenced in Chautauqua County Court on Tuesday to serve 20 years in prison.

Allen P. Witruke, 53, was sentenced by Acting County Court Judge James Bargnesi to concurrent 20-year prison terms on Witruke’s guilty pleas in May to two counts of manslaughter in the first degree, Chautauqua County District Attorney Patrick Swanson announced Tuesday afternoon.

Jamestown police charged that Witruke fatally stabbed his wife, 52-year-old Catherine Witruke; and fatally beat and stabbed his stepson, 34-year-old Eric Washburn. Chautauqua County sheriff’s deputies found their bodies when they entered Witruke’s home on Barrows Street in Jamestown to execute an eviction on the morning of Dec. 8, 2015, authorities reported.

Investigators said Witruke fled to Olean, New York, where he was apprehended by police. Witruke was believed to have been heading to Wisconsin when he was caught.

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