Woman sentenced to 20 years for bar death
Rose Wyche asked the victim's family for forgiveness. They say the sentence is appropriate.
By CARRIE WEIMAR
Published June 16, 2006
TAMPA - Rose Wyche turned to the family of the woman she stabbed to death during a bar fight and made a final, tearful plea.
"I just ask you to forgive me," said Wyche, a 58-year-old great-grandmother and former Hillsborough County school bus driver. "It happened, and I can't do anything about it, and I'm sorry."
The family of Sharon Watson, who was 34 when she was stabbed outside the Lucky Star Bar in Wimauma in December 2003, was unmoved. They sat stone-faced as Wyche dissolved in sobs.
In March, Wyche pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, which carries a maximum punishment of life in prison. She rejected a 20-year plea agreement offered by prosecutors and threw herself on the mercy of the court during her sentencing hearing Thursday.
Circuit Judge Robert A. Foster Jr. said Wyche needed to be held accountable for her actions and sentenced her to 20 years in prison.
"You took a knife, you went into a bar, and you tore a community apart," Foster told Wyche. "It affected and impacted everyone."
Wyche covered her mouth with her fist as the judge announced the sentence. Her family members collapsed in sobs. One of her daughters was crying so hard she had to be carried out of the courthouse.
But Watson's family members said the sentence was appropriate. They said the case divided friends and relatives in their small community.
"It had a big impact on everyone," said Levern Stephen, 58, the victim's father. "It just tore everyone apart because we're all so closely knit."
Wyche had worked as a school bus driver since 1978. She has 60 grandchildren and step-grandchildren, 40 great-grandchildren and, before the night of the stabbing, a spotless criminal record.
On the night of the stabbing, Wyche received a call from a friend, who said her sister was in a fight at the neighborhood bar. Wyche grabbed a steak knife and drove there, less than two miles from her Taft Street home, according to court records.
Wyche's sister, Jewell Stephens-Hunt of Ruskin, was fighting with people. She broke a beer bottle and tried to stab someone, police records showed.
When Wyche arrived, she got into a shouting match with Watson. Wyche then got the knife from her car and plunged it into Watson's chest, said Assistant State Attorney Jennifer Gabbard.
Friends drove Watson to her cousin's house, less than a mile from the bar. Watson collapsed and was taken to a hospital, where she died shortly before 1 a.m., Gabbard said.
Wyche drove from the bar, but was stopped by authorities and arrested. Her sister was charged with aggravated assault.
Andra Singleton, a friend of Watson's who was present the night of the fight, said Watson never fought with Wyche's sister. She said the whole thing was senseless.
"You didn't have to do it," Singleton told Wyche. "It wasn't necessary what happened."
Stephen, Watson's father, said he grew up with Wyche. He drove a semitrailer truck with her husband, Ralph. But he still cries when he remembers seeing his daughter in the hospital and touching her cold skin.
"It hurt me," Stephen said. "It hurts my heart. I can forgive Mrs. Wyche for what she did, but I can never forget the night it happened."
Wyche's attorney, Daniel Hernandez, argued for leniency. He said she led a "stellar, productive, law-abiding life" and knew her actions were wrong.
Wyche confessed to sheriff's deputies, telling them she didn't mean to hurt anyone.
"She fully acknowledges her responsibility," Hernandez said. "She's been torn by this."
Friends and co-workers testified on Wyche's behalf. They told the judge Wyche was a loving person who deeply regretted the stabbing.
"She got along with everybody," said Sandi Katvala, who was Wyche's supervisor. "There was no arguing or anything like that. There was a lot of laughter when she was with us."
But prosecutor Gabbard said Wyche didn't show much remorse before the sentencing hearing. She waved to Watson's family members when she saw them around town and still frequented the bar where the stabbing occurred, Gabbard said.
"The fact remains, without any question, that the person who caused all of this to happen to her own family and the victim's family is the defendant," Gabbard said.
Before imposing the sentence, Foster urged everyone to heal the rift the case created.
"You will never forget," Foster said. "But you need to forgive."
--Carrie Weimar can be reached at 813 226-3416 or cweimar@sptimes.com.