Killer gets maximum sentence for fatal love triangle shooting

A man convicted of shooting and killing a man in a McKeesport received the maximum sentence on Thursday.

A judge ordered James Husok to serve 20 to 50 years in state prison for the murder of 27-year-old Michael Welsh.

Husok argued that he shot Welsh in self-defense, but a jury found him guilty in October of third-degree murder.

Police said Husok, 27, killed Welsh in an alley in 2015 over a dispute involving Husok’s ex-wife.

During Thursday’s sentencing hearing, Welsh’s mother told the judge: “My heart has been broken since the day Michael died 475 days ago.”

The victim’s father, William Walsh Sr., said he is glad that Husok is being punished, but the sentence doesn’t help heal his family’s pain.

Husok stood in the courtroom and listened as his own family spoke on his behalf. Husok broke down at one point when his mother addressed the judge. Husok also spoke, expressing remorse for his actions.

“That night will haunt me forever,” Husok told the Welsh family. “I wish there was some way I could ease your pain.”

Welsh’s father said his son and Husok knew one another, and he still has trouble understanding why the dispute ended with a loss of life.

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27-year-old man found shot to death in McKeesport alley (Sept. 19, 2015) 

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