Echo Lake murderer sent to prison for 110 years

The Kalispell man convicted of stabbing a man 25 times and stashing the body under a log at Echo Lake in May was sentenced Tuesday to 110 years in Montana State Prison and 45 years without the eligibility of parole. Robert Matthew Wittal, 29, was found guilty by a jury in October of the deliberate homicide of Wade Rautio, 35.

Flathead District Court Judge Robert Allison declared the sentence after more than an hour of emotional testimony by Rautio’s friends and family. Three people spoke on behalf of Wittal’s declared innocence.

Judge Allison said the methamphetamine-related case was one of the most horrific murders he’s encountered.

“The motives behind this and the way in which it was done,” Allison said. “Essentially, torturing this individual who was running around in the woods at night, begging for his life and being slowly hacked to death over a period of, I think the testimony was some 20 or 30 minutes, I can’t for the life of me imagine a more gruesome end.”

Wittal was one of four people arrested in June after Rautio’s body was discovered in a creek along Peters Ridge near Creston.

Throughout the trial and sentencing, Wittal denied being involved in the murder and claimed he had been set up by his co-defendants — David Vincent Toman, 21, Christopher Michael Hansen, 28, and Melisa Ann Crone, 29. Prosecutors have said the co-defendants helped Wittal plan and kill Rautio. The three co-defendants were charged with accountability to deliberate homicide for the May 26, 2016 murder.

According to previous testimony, Rautio had been in an argument about drugs with either Crone or Wittal the morning of the murder, and Rautio had been kicked out of Crone’s Evergreen home.

Early that morning, Wittal, Rautio, Toman and Hansen left Evergreen together and headed into the woods. A few hours later, the group returned to the house without Rautio. Crone testified in October that Wittal told her “he stabbed him about 100 times. He said (Rautio) had a strong soul and he didn’t want to go down. His soul wasn’t ready to leave.”

A medical examiner found that Rautio had been stabbed at least 25 times.

More than two weeks after Rautio was killed, Toman reported the murder to the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office and led officers to the body.

Hansen and Toman testified that Wittal had done the stabbing. The pair said Wittal had stabbed Rautio with a long and thick knife, which he dropped in Brown’s Creek before Hansen allegedly handed him a smaller knife to finish the killing.

TUESDAY MORNING, Rautio’s family members and friends tried to describe the man who had been killed. They talked about his love for the people in his life, even throughout his drug addiction.

Rautio’s mother, Tomi Rautio, was the second person to take the stand. “My son’s gone, I will never get a call from him again.”

She said like Wittal, her son was “sick” because of the drug culture they had entered. But she said while Wittal will have to spend the rest of his life reliving the night her son died, she said she will find balance by relying on God and speaking out against drug use in the community.

Kevin Peterson told Wittal to look him in the eyes as Peterson described his cousin.

“No matter how messed up Wade got ... he always managed to come into our lives,” Peterson said. “He can’t do that anymore, you took it from him. And I know, deep in my heart, Wade would beat the addiction because he had a strong soul, you know it first hand.”

A silver vial of Rautio’s ashes dangled from a chain in Peterson’s hand. On it was Rautio’s initials, “W.A.R.”

Peterson said Wittal’s actions created more victims beyond Rautio’s family as he pointed toward Wittal’s crying mother.

Throughout the sentencing, the mother of the accused and the victim sat parallel to each other, separated by a path leading toward the judge’s bench.

Theresa Bering told the courtroom she believed her son was innocent. She described Wittal taking care of her throughout her abusive relationships, homelessness and various health issues.

“These are things you don’t know about him,” she said.

Bering’s testimony suddenly ended as she rushed off the stand for her inhaler and left the courtroom.

Wittal was the final person to take the stand before the judge gave his sentencing.

“There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think about, if it were my son, or if it were a relative of mine, or how Wade’s family or Wade’s father feels,” Wittal said. “I try every day …”

Wittal was cut off as an audience member said, “Well why don’t you look at them then.”

Wittal continued, “to understand what they’re going through.” Then he turned toward Rautio’s mother, “I really am sorry for your loss. There’s nothing I can do to make it feel better.”

In a letter to Judge Allison last week, Wittal maintained his innocence and wrote, “There is an appeals process for a reason.”

Defense attorney Steven Scott declined to comment on whether Wittal will seek an appeal.

Judge Allison said the case was a byproduct of the drug culture in the Flathead Valley, which he said was adding to the growing number of overdoses in the state.

“There are victims to the drug epidemic and they continue to grow exponentially,” Allison said. “And every time one person dies, this case is an excellent example of how that ripples outward in a community.”

Crone, Hansen and Toman are set to go on trial in March for homicide and other charges related to the murder.

Reporter Katheryn Houghton may be reached at 758-4436 or by email at khoughton@dailyinterlake.com.