The Vigens were a large, loving family, never before touched by tragedy, a granddaughter said. But on Monday, they were in Ramsey County District Court, still trying to cope with the murders of three of their own in October.

They were there to speak out, to see that the killer, Johnny Lee Ellis, 39, was sentenced by District Judge Edward Wilson to 76 1/2 years in prison. And in the process, it became clear -- life for the girls and the women of the Vigen family will never be the same.

Ellis pleaded guilty in May to three murders. They included his girlfriend, Angela L. Vigen, her special-needs sister, Jennifer Vigen, and their 75-year-old mother, Jolyn Vigen. Their bodies were found Oct. 27 in the family's home in the 5100 block of Sunnyside Road in Mounds View.

Now, one granddaughter wrote, she will never know if it would have been her aunt Angela, 40, who would have fixed her hair for prom.

A daughter told the judge about how she still reaches for the phone to call her mother Jolyn, but then remembers: "Her voice is silent," she said.

Others spoke of how Jennifer, 35, who had Down syndrome, never judged people, and would love unconditionally. Once, a woman recalled, Jennifer had sent a letter to her thanking her for a gift and inviting her to stop by to meet her mother -- "and Johnny, too."

At his plea hearing, Ellis, who lived in the basement of the home, offered little explanation for the deaths, saying only: "I was high." On Monday, when asked by Wilson if he had anything to say, he replied, "I'm sorry," plus a few mumbled words that were inaudible to those nearby.

Prosecutor Phil Carruthers said Monday the crime was one of the most heinous, senseless and cruelest in the county "in some time," and he asked the judge to back a plea agreement calling for three consecutive sentences of 25 1/2 years.

In agreeing to the deal, Wilson told Ellis that he was sure the killer knew how "horrific" his actions were.

Close family

Jolyn Vigen moved with two of her daughters to Mounds View from Thief River Falls, Minn., after retiring from her job as director of the Head Start program in Pennington County. She and her husband, who had died before her, had six children and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Angela Vigen was the primary caretaker for her sister.

According to the Ramsey County medical examiner, Jolyn and Jennifer Vigen bled to death from stab wounds. Angela Vigen died from multiple sharp-force injuries to her head and blunt-force injury to her forehead. A 2-inch portion of a broken knife blade was lodged in her brain.

Ellis said he killed the women on Oct. 23 or 24. Twice at the time of his arrest, he tried to harm himself, first by stabbing himself in the chest and then by attempting to jump over a third-floor railing as police led him from a Minneapolis apartment building in handcuffs.

On Monday, he wore a green Kevlar vest to the sentencing because he was on suicide watch at the Ramsey County jail, Carruthers said.

Family members say they will miss Angela's singing and Jolyn's stories. But the granddaughters say they will refuse to let the murders define them. It's the least they can do, they said, for their aunts.

Staff Writer Pat Pheifer contributed to this report.

Anthony Lonetree • 612-673-4109