Gardenhire sentenced to a minimum 75 years in prison for murder of 13 year old
Isaiah Gardenhire was sentenced to a minimum of 75 years in prison on Nov. 9 in Isabella County Trial Court for the murder of a 13-year-old girl, unlawful imprisonment and assault.
In June, Gardenhire held hostage and assaulted his girlfriend, Tiffany Dembowske. He later fatally stabbed Dembowske's 13-year-old daughter, Adrie. Four days before the murder, Gardenhire posted bond for sexual assault of a minor in a different county.
Gardenhire offered his condolences to the family. He said he regretted what he did to the Dembowskes.
Judge Mark Duthie said the crime was among the worst he has seen in his 37 years in Isabella County.
When he read the sentence, Duthie talked about how in Michigan if someone is convicted of second-degree murder, they are eligible for parole after 15 years. He said he did not want the family to worry about this possibility.
"The conduct in this case, the only way you can categorize it, it was flat out evil," Duthie said. "The defendant deserves no consideration from the court. He needs to spend the rest of his life behind bars."
Gardenhire was charged with 2nd-degree murder for a minimum of 75 years, felonious assault for a minimum of 10 years and felonious unlawful imprisonment for a minimum of 75 years. He received a credit of 154 days served.
Gardenhire also has a pending murder charge in Ingham County.
