Fiegehen sentenced to life

MINDEN -- Despite family members' tearful pleas for leniency, a Carson City man who killed his ex-girlfriend's father and maimed her mother was sentenced Thursday to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Christopher Fiegehen received a doubled life sentence in the Feb. 10, 2002, stabbing death of Al Chorkey.

Douglas County District Judge Dave Gamble also sentenced Fiegehen to double sentences of eight to 20 years for attempted murder in the near-fatal shooting of Chorkey's wife, Lorrelle, in the couple's Johnson Lane home. The sentences were doubled because Fiegehen used a firearm in the commission of the crimes.

Fiegehen's family members begged Gamble to give the 24-year-old a sentence that would allow him to get out of prison some day.

Anita McComb, Fiegehen's birth mother, said her son has a lot of life ahead and wanted him to have some sort of parole.

From his early nickname of "Lovey," Vicki Shell, Fiegehen's aunt, said he is a "young man filled with love."

Fiegehen is the adopted son of Carson City businessman Al Fiegehen, who owns Cubix Corp. as well as the Ormsby House and Glen Eagles restaurant.

In a statement to the court, victim Lorrelle Chorkey said Fiegehen "is an embarrassment to humanity."

She spoke about Al Chorkey and the love they shared and what her injuries have done to her life. She is partially blind and deaf and lost some motor functions as a result of being shot in the head and chest.

"I was reduced from a happy, strong, working mother of four to a survivor," she said.

Fiegehen, who was convicted July 15, was in court Thursday dressed in a gray jacket and black slacks.

He showed no emotion as Gamble pronounced the consecutive sentences.

However, Fiegehen turned and grinned several times at friends and family during the hearing.

Gamble said by the "very bizarreness" of the crime, it is unpredictable whether Fiegehen will change for the better.

"The difficulty I have is the inconsistency with his life," Gamble said. "I don't know if Mr Fiegehen is allowed back on the streets ... future offenses will be unpredictable."

Fiegehen's attorney, Richard Young, said he will appeal because jurors were not instructed to consider different degrees on the count of murder.

In addition to the murder and attempted murder sentences, Fiegehen received two consecutive 6-15 year sentences for home invasion and was ordered to pay $10,463,80 in restitution.

Fiegehen was arrested April 9, 2002, in Vincennes, Ind., after a two-month search, a national manhunt, and two profiles on Fox television's "America's Most Wanted."