EVERETT — A Marysville teen who was offered a car by Barbara Opel to help murder her boss two years ago has been sentenced to 50 years in prison.
Jeffrey Grote was 17 when he and four other teens attacked Jerry Heimann with knives and baseball bats. The 64-year-old Boeing retiree died on the kitchen floor of his Everett home April 13, 2001.
In sentencing Grote, now 19, Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Charles French yesterday gave him credit for the two years he has spent in jail.
Grote's sentencing comes less than a week after a jury recommended Opel spend the rest of her life in prison for bribing the teenagers to kill Heimann. Grote, a former Marysville-Pilchuck High School student and competitive speedskater, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder last year. His sentencing was delayed until he testified during Opel's criminal trial.
Grote offered a quick and quiet apology to Heimann's family after the victim's son and daughter lambasted him.
"You helped murder a man you never met. . Did you ever think what you were doing was wrong?" said Kelly Muller, Heimann's daughter.
During Opel's trial Grote testified that Opel repeatedly talked about hiring people to kill Heimann so she could gain access to the nearly $40,000 he had in his bank account. Opel and her three children had been living with Heimann since December 2000. Opel had been a live-in caretaker for Heimann's elderly mother who suffered from Alzheimer's disease.
Grote said he initially refused when Opel asked him to participate in the killing. But he changed his mind when she promised to buy him a car and give his friends cash.
On the night of the murder, Grote, his girlfriend Heather Opel, Marriam Oliver, Kyle Boston and Boston's then-13-year-old cousin hid in Heimann's house waiting for him. When Heimann walked into the house, Grote sneaked up behind him and clubbed him with Heather's softball bat.
When Heimann fell to his knees, Boston and his cousin then beat the man with miniature baseball bats. The two boys became frightened and fled, and Heather Opel and Oliver picked up weapons and joined in the attack.
All of the teens have been convicted of murder.
Heather Opel, Barbara Opel's daughter, now 15, and Oliver, now 16, are both serving 22-year prison sentences.
Boston, now 16, is serving an 18-year sentence. His cousin, now 15, who The Times is not naming because he was prosecuted as a juvenile, will be released from prison when he turns 21.
Opel, 39, was convicted of aggravated first-degree murder April 8. The same jury ruled Friday that she should spend life in prison without parole, opting against the death penalty. Opel is to be formally sentenced today.