CINCINNATI -- James Kirby, Chasidy Brewer and Mario Lewis all pleaded guilty Monday to involvement in the beating death of a 73-year-old St. Bernard man.
Investigators said Carl Engel was beaten to death in his home during a burglary gone wrong almost exactly one year ago.
Kirby, charged with aggravated murder, was handed the stiffest sentence of the three -- 27 years in prison.
Lewis, charged with involuntary manslaughter, was given 14 years in the Department of Corrections.
When Engel's family testified during the sentencing hearing while asking for a tougher sentence, Lewis spoke up.
"Without me speaking up, you wouldn't have known the truth through the whole case scenario," he said in the court room.
Investigators said Brewer helped destroy evidence of the crime in a cemetery; she was given seven years.
Because the three took a plea deal, Engel's family said they thought they were given lighter sentences.
"We feel like justice isn't completely served," daughter Cynthia Koelher said. "The whole process of plea deals and all this ridiculous legal maze to get to these convictions is a travesty."
Watch the video below from the day police began investigating Engel's death: March 15, 2015.
