Haunted by murder scene, victim's sons angrily send Clovis killer to prison
CLOVIS, Calif. (KFSN) -- A murder victim's sons might never get the answers they want from the family member who killed their father last January, but the killer is headed to prison now.
Sheriff's deputies and family members told Chet Scharnick to avoid Katreeva Woolf.
But his sons say the 84-year-old felt an obligation to help her deal with the demons haunting her, right up to the day she killed him -- apparently trying to get herself one more high.
Chet Scharnick's athletic history is legendary at Sanger High School.
His painting jobs cover most of downtown Fresno.
And his cartoon artwork -- like the special Disney characters -- fills Christmas parades even after his death.
"But when I proudly show my dad's artwork to people, I still see my father's body laying on the floor," said his son, Jeff. "I'm the one who found my father."
What Katreeva Woolf left behind, Jeff Scharnick found.
His father had married into Woolf's family and considered her his granddaughter.
But even her blood relatives warned Chet to stay away from her as drugs took over her life.
"How many people love you now?" said Randy Scharnick. "Who would help you? I only know of one. The one person who was willing to help you, your go-to person, you brutally murdered him. And for what? One more high."
Scharnick lived 84 years, but his sons say he had a lot more in him and still led a busy life.
His goal was to outlive his oldest brother, who's 88 and going strong.
But Chet never got the chance.
His son found his body last January, stabbed by a screwdriver, with a pillow over his head.
"Did my father cover his head with that pillow to protect himself from you or did you cover him so you didn't have to hear and see what you had done?" Jeff Scharnick asked.
Woolf pleaded guilty to murder last month, but in court Wednesday she didn't apologize or express remorse or say much of anything.
She'll serve 26 years to life and Scharnick's sons say they hope all those years are filled with visions of what she did.
