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Box Top winners at St. Jude’s

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Trans-Siberian Orchestra founder, composer Paul O’Neill dead at age 61

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; The day finally came.</p><p>Nearly eight years to the day that a city woman and her daughter died in a raging house fire, their family gained some solace Thursday as the man charged with setting the fatal blaze stood before a judge and admitted he was guilty.</p><p>Joseph Walter Derhammer, shackled and clad in a yellow prison jumpsuit, pleaded guilty to two counts of third-degree murder and a count of arson. He was immediately sentenced by Luzerne County Judge Joseph Sklarosky Jr. to 20 to 40 years in state prison per terms of a plea agreement.</p><p>Derhammer, 46, was accused of setting fire to a pile of rags on the back porch of 46 Chester St. in Wilkes-Barre on April 13, 2009. Flames quickly tore through the house, trapping his girlfriend, Nancy Kostelnick, 48, and her daughter, Carolyn &#8220;CJ&#8221; Kostelnick, 23, whose frantic cries for help were captured on a 911 recording.</p><p>Her call to 911 at 1:52 a.m. was played at a 2012 hearing. She could be heard having trouble breathing, repeatedly coughing, and yelling for her mother. The call disconnected three minutes later after she was heard moaning, &#8220;I&#8217;m dying.&#8221;</p><p>In court, a tearful Nikki Ford said she&#8217;s haunted by the chilling recording that captured her mother and sister in their final moments. The pair was quick to lend a hand to anyone in need, and Ford longed to hear their voices again, she said, &#8220;but not like that.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;I wouldn&#8217;t wish it on my worst enemy to have to listen to that tape,&#8221; she said.</p><p>A sullen Derhammer gave short answers to the judge during the hearing but didn&#8217;t speak otherwise. His attorney, William Watt, noted Derhammer &#8220;accepted responsibility&#8221; for his actions. The words, however, weren&#8217;t enough for Ford to find forgiveness.</p><p>&#8220;I couldn&#8217;t (forgive Derhammer),&#8221; she said. &#8220;He didn&#8217;t ever show any kind of remorse. Nothing.&#8221;</p><p>Investigators said Derhammer torched the home because he was angry Nancy Kostelnick had thrown him out two weeks earlier. The two were in a relationship despite Nancy Kostelnick&#8217;s marriage to Joseph Kostelnick, who also lived in the house, Joseph Kostelnick testified in 2012.</p><p>Though the fire happened in 2009, Derhammer wasn&#8217;t charged until nearly two years later. The case was scheduled to go to trial later this month.</p><p>His trial date was held up for years as attorneys battled over evidence and while Derhammer, a convicted sex offender, appealed a four- to eight-year prison sentence for failing to comply with Megan&#8217;s Law requirements. The state Superior Court upheld the sentence, imposed in 2011, in a ruling issued last year.</p><p>The delays left some family members wondering if a conviction would ever come.</p><p>Cherri Swainbank was relieved it did.</p><p>&#8220;(I feel) like a weight was lifted off of you, like we don&#8217;t have to worry anymore,&#8221; said Swainbank, Nancy Kostelnick&#8217;s sister and Carolyn Kostelnick&#8217;s aunt.</p><p>Thursday&#8217;s outcome ensures Derhammer will be behind bars for a long time while giving the family the closure it has been waiting for, prosecutor Nancy Violi said after the hearing.</p><p>According to a criminal complaint, Nancy Kostelnick told Derhammer she wanted him out of her house on April 1, 2009. Two days later, he showed up at the home demanding money for rent he had paid. Nancy Kostelnick refused to give him the money, leading to Derhammer making threats.</p><p>A witness allegedly heard Derhammer arguing with Nancy Kostelnick on the phone days before the deadly blaze. Hours before the fire, Derhammer was sitting in a motel room with a woman saying, &#8220;I&#8217;ll burn her (expletive) house down,&#8221; the complaint says.</p><p>Investigators said a neighbor saw Derhammer walking away from the Kostelnicks&#8217; home just minutes before the blaze.</p><p>Attempts to rescue Nancy Kostelnick and her daughter were called off due to the intensity of the blaze, prosecutors said. The women&#8217;s bodies were found on the second floor of the home. Investigators later determined they died from smoke inhalation.</p><p>Derhammer allegedly confessed in 2010, telling his cousin, &#8220;I (expletive) up. I should never have done it. I cared for her. I was pissed she didn&#8217;t want to be with me. She wanted to be with another guy.&#8221;</p><p>Ford felt betrayed by Derhammer, who was let into her home and even gave rides to her children, she said.</p><p>&#8220;He was OK in the beginning, then he started getting nasty,&#8221; Ford recalled. &#8220;I never thought he could do that to my mom and my sister. Ever.&#8221;</p><p><strong><ins>For other local crime stories, <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/crime" target="_blank">click here</a>.</ins></strong></p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Nikki Ford speaks about her mother and sister after their accused killer, Joseph Walter Derhammer, pleaded guilty to two counts of third-degree murder and arson Thursday. He was sentenced to 20 to 40 years in prison. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_TTL040717derhammer-3.jpg</photo0><caption0>Nikki Ford speaks about her mother and sister after their accused killer, Joseph Walter Derhammer, pleaded guilty to two counts of third-degree murder and arson Thursday. He was sentenced to 20 to 40 years in prison. </caption0><photoCredit0>Sean McKeag | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_web1_IMG_4575-3-4.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Joseph Walter Derhammer, shown here arriving for a hearing last year, was accused of two counts of homicide and related charges stemming from a fire that killed a mother and her daughter in 2009. He pleaded guilty in the case Thursday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_web1_IMG_4575-3-4.jpg</photo1><caption1>Joseph Walter Derhammer, shown here arriving for a hearing last year, was accused of two counts of homicide and related charges stemming from a fire that killed a mother and her daughter in 2009. He pleaded guilty in the case Thursday. </caption1><photoCredit1>Joe Dolinsky | Times Leader file </photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Mother, daughterkilled in 2009 WB blaze</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Joe Dolinsky</p><p>jdolinsky@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Joe Dolinsky at 570-991-6110 or on Twitter @JoeDolinskyTL.</p></shirttailMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><videoMeta><p><table style="border:none;width:98%;" class="mceItemTable"><tbody><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">VideoID:</td><td id="videoid" style="width:50em;font-size:90%;"> 0LaPD-eI9jY</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">VideoType:</td><td id="videotype" style="font-size:90%;"> YOUTUBE</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">URL:</td><td id="url" style="font-size:90%;"> https://youtu.be/0LaPD-eI9jY</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Embed String:</td><td id="videoembedstring" style="font-size:90%;"> &lt;iframe width=&#8221;560&#8221; height=&#8221;315&#8221; src=&#8221;https://www.youtube.com/embed/0LaPD-eI9jY&#8221; frameborder=&#8221;0&#8221; allowfullscreen&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Caption:</td><td id="videocaption" style="font-size:90%;"> Joseph Walter Derhammer, shackled and clad in a yellow prison jump suit, pleaded guilty to two counts of third-degree murder and a count of arson. He was immediately sentenced by Luzerne County Judge Joseph Sklarosky Jr. to 20 to 40 years in state prison per terms of the plea agreement.</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Credit:</td><td id="videocredit" style="font-size:90%;"> Joe Dolinsky | Times Leader</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Position:</td><td id="videoposition" style="font-size:90%;"> </td></tr></tbody></table></p><p style="margin-top:10px;font-size:70%;color:#555;">(use the &#8220;for files&#8230;&#8221; link above to associate attached files with this source)</p></videoMeta></div>

Man admits to setting 2009 blaze that killed mother, daughter