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.
