Man gets 25 years in samurai sword slaying

The Hauppauge man who admitted killing his stepfather with a samurai sword got a 25-year sentence Monday, ending six years of often lurid courtroom battles that pained and exhausted the victim's family.

Zachary Gibian, 23, pleaded guilty two weeks ago to first-degree manslaughter in the death of Scott Nager in February 2005. His plea occurred on the eve of a second trial on a murder charge. His 2006 conviction was overturned by an appeals court. Courtroom testimony showed that Nager was nearly decapitated by the sword.

"You have completely lost your soul," Nager family friend Terri Congelossi of Port Jefferson said to Gibian before Suffolk County Court Judge James Hudson imposed the sentence. "You have become the monster you tried to make Scott out to be."

Hudson told Gibian: "It was a grievous crime, and grievously you shall pay for it."

For Laura Nager, Gibian's mother and Nager's wife, the plea and sentence were unfortunate steps her son had to take to ensure a life not entirely wasted in prison. At his murder trial, Gibian said his mother killed Nager, but when he pleaded guilty two weeks ago, he said he did it after she told him of another argument in the family.

Scott and Laura Nager fought often about Gibian's behavior, according to trial testimony. Gibian used drugs openly, but Laura Nager shielded him from discipline and even bought him a car shortly before the killing, testimony said.

"I still believe that he is innocent," said Nager, who now lives in Arkansas. She said someone else killed her husband. "Scott had so many enemies. My husband wasn't a nice man. . . . He was very judgmental, but he never looked at himself and did any judging."

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Neither Gibian nor his attorney, William Keahon, spoke in court. Afterward, however, Keahon also said he believed his client was innocent.

With time served and time off for good behavior, Keahon said Gibian will be free before he's 39 years old. "There is a day on the calendar that ensures a future life for him," he said.

Prosecutor John Scott Prudenti said his office agreed to the plea when family members said they "did not wish to spend the summer reliving this tragic event."

Congelossi also read a letter to Hudson from Nager's sister Ann Leonardi.

"I hope Zachary realizes one day he turned against the only parent who had his interests at heart," Leonardi wrote, adding that she was glad to have the turmoil of "crazy lies" and the appeal finished.