News : Judge hears emotional victim statements before sentencing Salazar to 75 years

Maddison Holmquist sat in the witness chair of the Benton County courtroom on Wednesday, looking at the defendant, with a photo of her daughter, Hailey, in front of her. The child in the photo seemed to stare right at the man responsible for her death.
"I lost my whole world because of your dumb acts," Holmquist told defendant Raul Salazar, Jr., during his sentencing on three counts of vehicular homicide.
Hailey was 3 years, 7 months and 6 days old when she and two other people died on the night of Aug. 10, 2013, when Salazar's pickup ran a stop sign on the gravel road south of Keystone. His pickup's GPS system indicated that his vehicle was traveling at 80 mph when it crossed Highway 30 and collided with the sedan. The three people who died instantly in that accident included Hailey, Hailey's father, Jason Bessert, and Jason's girlfriend, Valerie Schneiders.
Salazar pleaded guilty on Sept. 11 to vehicular homicide. Court records indicate that his blood alcohol content (BAC) was .133 after the accident. Witnesses also reported seeing Salazar and another passenger hiding cans of beer in a nearby field after the crash.
During Wednesday's sentencing hearing, more than 50 people - friends and relatives of the three victims and their families - filled more than one half of the courtroom. The judge heard 10 victim impact statements from relatives of the three victims. Family members also displayed many photographs of the three victims, clearly observed by everyone including Salazar.
"I want him to think about how he ruined something so amazing," Holmquist said while reading her statement.
Hailey, said her mother, was a bright, compassionate little girl who loved to try her mom's make-up, loved many of the fairy tale princesses but hated Pocahontas and one day told all of the kids in her day care to be quiet because the provider had a headache and then offered to rub her head to see if she could make her feel better.
'Tremendous waste'
The future was looking bright for all of the people involved before that August crash. Salazar, a master electrician, and his business partner had recently begun an open-ended contract worth millions of dollars per year. The 40-year-old Texan was earning around $200,000 per year and managing a crew of up to 20 electricians and laborers, according to his partner, Michael Pottorff. Jason Bessert was doing well in his own area of the construction field, as a partner with his brother, Jeff, in B & B Drywall of Atkins. Valerie Schneiders had recently begun a new job where she was very happy, and was helping her father, Kit, with his rehab after heart surgery.
"Valerie was the happiest I had ever seen her," said her sister-in-law, Cassie Wendt.
And little Hailey, said her mother, was just about to enter pre-school for the very first time.
"She already had her backpack and her first-day outfit ready," Holmquist told the court.
Instead of a lifetime of school memories and growing-up moments like her first crush or her first kiss, Holmquist said the last memory she has of her daughter was when she saw her 3-year-old in a casket.
"Hailey shouldn't be remembered like that," she said. "I don't know what her life would have been, but it would have been awesome."
Family members of each victim wrote statements, sharing memories of the three and asking the judge to impose the maximum sentence.
Judy Bessert lost a son and granddaughter in the crash. She imagined what it would be like as Jesus escorted the three to heaven, answering their questions about why this happened and wondering if Salazar could forgive himself or ask God to forgive him.
Judge Mary E. Chichelly told Salazar that she had spent days reviewing the pre-sentencing investigation and reading the victim impact statements before deciding on the sentence.
"What a tremendous waste," said the judge, adding that there are no words to describe the enormity of Salazar's actions.
The judged sentenced Salazar to the maximum penalty: Three consecutive 25-year terms, although he would be eligible for a shorter sentence with good behavior and work credit.
'See you later, bro'
Jeff Bessert told the judge that on the weekend that they died, Jason and his family had come to Traer for the annual community celebration known as the "Winding Stairs Festival." Hailey had participated in several events, including face painting. Jason and his family left Traer for Cedar Rapids to take his daughter to Holmquist.
"We'll see you later, bro," were Jason's last words to his brother.
When the trio did not arrive in Cedar Rapids, the family began calling around, looking for them. Then several family members started driving around, looking for a stranded vehicle, not imagining the horror that had already occurred.
None of the victims' family members learned of the accident until Sunday morning, when someone called the Cedar Rapids Police Department. Officers there had heard the news and directed them to call Benton County authorities.
Holmquist called the sheriff's office, but was only told she needed to come to Vinton. She then called her aunt, who gave her the dreadful news.
"All I could do was scream and scream and scream," Holmquist recalled.
In addition to the unimaginable pain of losing her only child, Holmquist said she cries almost every day and finds it very hard to be around young children.
"People have stopped coming around because they don't know what to say to me," she said.
Bessert's brother wrote about how happy he was to be a father, and the joy they saw when he and Maddison welcomed Hailey into the world.
Holmquist told the court that while she and Bessert were no longer together, they had a good relationship as Hailey's parents. She also said that although she did not know her well, she could tell that Schneiders was good for her daughter.
"Hailey loved her, and that was good enough for me," she said. "Valerie always treated us both with nothing but respect."
Defendant's OWI history
Benton County Attorney David Thompson and Assistant County Attorney Emily Nydle served as prosecutors for the case.
Thompson told the judge that Salazar seemed to be offering contradictory statements that made him question whether the defendant truly appreciated the impact of his crime. He said that at times Salazar has said he wanted to take responsibility, but at other times he claimed that he "blacked out" and could not remember the accident.
Then a week after posting bail, Salazar went to visit a probation officer, who noticed the smell of alcohol on his breath. A BAC test indicated that Salazar, who had driven to the appointment, was nearly as intoxicated as he was the night of the fatal accident with a BAC of .127. While he was not charged with another OWI, Salazar did have his bond revoked for violating the terms of release; he has been in custody in the Benton County Jail since August 22, 2013. Salazar also had been convicted of OWI in Colorado 12 years ago, Thompson told the court. He also has one conviction for public intoxication, said Thompson.
Judge Chichelly said she was basing her sentencing on the original crime, not on the actions by the defendant subsequent to his arrest.
Before the sentence was pronounced, Salazar - himself a father of seven, including three minors - told the family members he did not expect forgiveness. He said he hoped his plea and sentencing would begin to offer the family some closure. In addition to his business partner, Pottorff, Salazar's parents and former employee Michael Rinehart attended the hearing. Rinehart also spoke, telling the judge that Salazar was known for helping employees and even paying out of his own pocket for things they need for their jobs.
Salazar's attorney said his client wanted to plead guilty so he would not force the victims' families to endure the pain of a trial.
After the hearing, which Holmquist called her hardest day since Hailey's funeral, the grieving mother said she thinks the sentencing of the man responsible for her child's death will be one step toward healing.
Yet, she says, she is not quite ready to forgive.
When asked what she hopes for Salazar in prison, she simply replied, "I hope he gets beat." See a previous story about Salazar's guilty plea HERE.