A 25-year-old man in Pennsylvania will spend the remainder of his life behind bars for killing his father, fatally shooting the 48-year-old in a “fit of rage” because he didn’t pay enough attention to him. District Judge Richard Thomas on Tuesday ordered Wyatt N. Dettinger to serve a sentence of life in a state correctional facility without the possibility of parole for the 2019 slaying of Duane Dettinger, authorities announced.
Under Pennsylvania state law, an individual convicted of first-degree murder is subject to a mandatory life sentence. Thomas also sentenced Wyatt Dettinger to six to 12 months on the tampering charge, to be served concurrently, meaning at the same time. Charges of recklessly endangering the welfare of another person and flight to avoid apprehension were initially brought against Wyatt Dettinger but later dropped.
According to a news release from the York County District Attorney’s Office, Wyatt Dettinger in December was convicted on one count each of first-degree murder and tampering with or fabricating physical evidence in his father’s death following a weeklong trial in Bucks County.