Final suspect found guilty of beating disabled man

With the conviction on Monday of the fifth and final suspect in his kidnapping and beating a year ago, one might think that Justin Hamilton would rest easy.

But the torture that took place for hours on two consecutive nights in rural Dakota County has left Hamilton, who grew up struggling with fetal alcohol syndrome, in his own prison of sorts, family members say. Now 25, he's fearful of strangers, he's worried his assailants might break out of prison, and he is receiving therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder and other problems, said his mother, Carolyn Hamilton.

Justin, once "happy go lucky" and trusting, has difficulty sleeping, working, or even going out alone, his mother said Monday.

"His world is very small," she said. "He's very much afraid. ... He has scars that are never going to go away."

She spoke a few hours after Dakota County District Judge Tim Wermager convicted Jonathan M. Diepold, 22, of Northfield, of six violent felony crimes and a misdemeanor, following a bench trial.

Diepold will be sentenced Dec. 22 for two counts of kidnapping, two counts of false imprisonment and one count each of aggravated robbery, third-degree assault and gross misdemeanor theft.

"This does bring to a close obtaining convictions against all of the persons associated with this violent attack upon a vulnerable adult," County Attorney James Backstrom said, noting that Diepold and co-defendant Jonathan M. Maniglia led the attack on Hamilton, who was 24 at the time.

Backstrom said prosecutors are seeking at least eight years in prison for Diepold. The attack left Hamilton with two broken ribs, burns, bruises and cuts from head to toe.

The doctors had told his parents not to bring him into the courtroom. But Monday morning, as his mother was heading to court in Hastings, Justin Hamilton told her what he wanted the judge to know about Diepold:

"Tell the judge that he hurt me the worst and that he enjoyed doing it, and if he could, he'd do it again," she said Justin told her.

The family will relay that message during the sentencing hearing next month, she said.

The attacks came on Oct. 10 and 11, 2008, two weeks after Justin befriended a Lakeville teen, Natasha Dahn, then 16.

She had lied and told her boyfriend, Maniglia, that Hamilton had hit her. After his assailants kidnapped him in Lakeville and took him to a remote spot in southern Dakota County, Dahn egged them on as they beat him.

Hamilton was knocked to the ground and repeatedly punched and hit on the first night, and then robbed. He said he remembers being kicked in the ribs with tan military boots while being told, "You don't hit women!"

His mother said that the assailants threatened to kill Justin and his family if he told anybody about the attack.

On the second night, he was again kidnapped and beaten for several hours, including with a military-style baton, while being ordered to call Maniglia and Diepold -- both National Guard members at the time -- "drill sergeant." Hamilton was bound to a tree with a belt and burned on his neck with a cigarette lighter and on his stomach with a heated credit card.

A year later, he not only has nightmares but also day terrors when he recalls smelling gasoline and hearing them discuss whether they would set him on fire, before he passed out, Carolyn Hamilton said.

She said her adopted son has worked hard over the years to overcome obstacles posed by having fetal alcohol syndrome and other problems since birth, and now, much of that progress has been set back.

"Justin will have a lot to deal with for a long time after they've finished their prison sentences," she said.

Monday, as Judge Wermager delivered his verdict, he noted that the victim was particularly vulnerable; that there were multiple forms of assault; that the victim suffered particular cruelty, and that emotional harm was inflicted.

Maniglia, 20, of Northfield, was found guilty of kidnapping, assault and theft and sentenced to eight years in prison in June. Glen Ries, 34, of Northfield, Timothy Ketterling, 22, of Prior Lake, and Dahn, now 17, pleaded guilty to lesser charges and were sentenced.

These days, Justin Hamilton lives with his older brother and sister-in-law and is seeing the goodness in friends and strangers who have showered him with cards and gifts, including stuffed animals. He likes to sit safe in his room, surrounded by teddy bears, poring over the cards and letters full of kind words, his mother said.

Joy Powell • 952-882-9017