He had threatened his brother a number of times in the weeks leading up to the fire, prosecutors said during the trial.
Tormu Prall TRENTON — A city man who was convicted of setting a house fire that killed his brother was sentenced yesterday to consecutive life and 20-year terms in prison.
Tormu Prall, 41, set fire to the Wayne Avenue home where he and his brother were living in 2007, killing the brother, John Prall, and severely injuring his brother’s girlfriend, Kimberly Meadows. He had threatened his brother a number of times in the weeks leading up to the fire, prosecutors said during the trial.
“I hope you get life in prison for what you did, because it was evil,” Meadows said in a letter that was read aloud during the hearing. “I don’t understand how you could be so cold-hearted.”
Prall’s attorney Michael Dawson questioned the evidence used against his client, calling it speculative, as he asked first for an acquittal, then for a new trial. Dawson focused on photographs of Prall’s hands, revealing serious burns, that he believed were unlawfully obtained and should not have been used during the trial.
“The weight of the evidence does not support this verdict,” Dawson said repeatedly.
Judge Andrew Smithson said that he was satisfied with the evidence and that there was nothing to substantiate the motions, ultimately dismissing both of them.
“I would have been shocked if the jury had come back without finding him guilty on all four counts,” Smithson said.
The prosecution sought a life sentence for the combined counts of murder, felony murder and arson, and a consecutive life sentence for the attempted murder conviction. Assistant Prosecutor Lew Korngut said if the sentences were not made consecutive, the court would not be punishing Prall for the anguish he has caused.
“If you could just try to imagine the horror that John Prall must have felt, that Kim Meadows must have felt,” Korngut said.
John Prall was in the hospital for four days before he died in a state of what doctors called “ultimate pain,” Korngut said. Ninety-eight percent of his body was severely burned. The prosecution also believed that Prall knew there was a second person in the room with John Prall.
“This man is just plain evil as far as the state is concerned,” Korngut said. “No impulse control, angry at the world.”
Dawson asked for the minimum sentence Prall could receive; 30 years.
When Prall was given the opportunity to speak, he read through part of the document he was holding and cited a U.S. Supreme Court case. It appeared to be the handwritten brief, which Smithson described as “difficult to divine,” that he submitted last week just before his scheduled hearing, causing it to be postponed until yesterday.
After a few minutes, Smithson stopped Prall from reading through the document further, saying that this hearing was only about sentencing.
Anna Prall, the mother of John and Tormu, spoke next in an effort to convince the judge to avoid giving her son a life sentence. She did not deny that Tormu Prall killed his brother, but she called the prosecution’s witnesses liars and said that they only listened to one side of the story.
“I lost one to death; I am now losing one to life,” Anna Prall said of her two sons.
A number of John Prall’s family members and friends spoke at the hearing, and many of them expressed the same feeling: they wanted to see some remorse.
“What hurts me is that Tormu has shown no remorse for what he did,” said Yeato Prall, the sister of John and Tormu.
Smithson explained his decision on the sentencing after everyone spoke. Prall would receive life in prison for the murder of his brother, and 20 years for the attempted murder of Meadows, to be served consecutively. Prall would not be eligible for parole for 80 years, Smithson said.
“This crime was horrific, outrageous, it shocks the conscious,” Smithson said.
Contact Brendan McGrath at (609)989-5731 or at bmcgrath@njtimes.com.
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