‘I wish I could go back in time.’ Woman charged in 2021 killing heading to state prison
A woman whose stabbing left a Spring Mills man dead and those closest to him often feeling helpless and angry was sentenced Monday to at least three years in state prison.
Brittany Guisewhite, 29, was sentenced by Centre County Judge Katherine Oliver to a maximum of eight years in prison. She pleaded no contest in July to one felony count of voluntary manslaughter in the death of Robert Farwell.
The plea meant she accepted the conviction, but did not expressly admit she committed the crime. Four charges were dropped, including third-degree murder and aggravated assault.
Guisewhite turned toward 10 of Farwell’s family members and friends who attended Monday’s hearing and offered an apology that Oliver said showed “genuine remorse.”
“I’m really sorry. I wish I could go back in time and handle it different at the time. I was scared and I shouldn’t have picked up the knife. I wish none of this would (have) happened. I’m really, really sorry,” Guisewhite said. “There’s nothing that will make it right; there’s no words that would make it right. But I’m really sorry.”
Those closest to Farwell described him as outgoing, intelligent and passionate. William Farwell wrote in a statement read on his behalf that his son enjoyed riding mountain and dirt bikes, skiing and whitewater rafting.
He also loved animals, which he’d fondly call “critters.” His cat still lives with his grandmother.
William Farwell wrote the death of his son had a “profound impact” on him. He expressed often feeling lost, being less social and apathetic about his business.
“When Brittany stabbed my son in the heart, she stabbed us all in the heart,” he wrote. “She stole this person from us.”
Laurie Zook, one of Robert’s aunts, said she was “dumbfounded and stymied” when she learned of his death. Lisa Kuzdro, another of Farwell’s aunts, fondly remembered the 26-year-old who once had blond hair and blue eyes.
“You finally took all the sparkle out of Rob’s eyes. He’s gone,” Kuzdro told Guisewhite. “I hope you will find it within you to find something worthwhile to do with the rest of your life.”
Guisewhite fatally stabbed Farwell during an April 2021 argument inside her Haines Township home. The two had a “tumultuous” relationship that soured in the months prior, state police at Rockview wrote in an affidavit of probable cause.
She told investigators Farwell showed up at her house unannounced. She locked herself in a bedroom during the argument, brandished a knife and warned Farwell not to move toward her, police wrote.
He did, and Guisewhite stabbed him in the chest, police wrote. She tested positive for amphetamine and methamphetamine.
Centre County Assistant Public Defender Shannon Malone planned to argue the killing was self-defense and was prepared to mount a battered woman syndrome defense at trial.
Guisewhite had told investigators that Farwell threatened to “kill her” and tried to enter the bedroom by kicking in the door, police wrote in search warrants.
The mother of two received credit for about 11 months served at the Centre County Correctional Facility.
She was also sentenced to pay about $20,000 in restitution. More than half that amount could be forgiven if claims are dropped, Centre County First Assistant District Attorney Sean McGraw said.
“If and when she does get her second chance, I hope she does not waste it,” William Farwell wrote. “The cost of her second chance came at the very high cost of Robert William Farwell’s life and the broken hearts of family and friends.”
