Estherville, Iowa — An Estherville teen’s view is going to be the inside of a jail cell for a long time.
Court records say 19-year old Lee Christensen was convicted this past summer of the June 2015 murder of 19-year old Thomas Bortvit of Estherville. On Wednesday, December 21st, Christensen was sentenced to fifty years in prison for the crime of Murder in the Second Degree, a Class B Forcible Felony, with credit for time served.
Christensen’s legal counsel had filed a motion after the June verdict, stating that Christensen’s Iowa and US Constitutional rights to a fair trial and due process of law were violated in the trial due to a number of factors. They say that it was possible that some of the jurors made their decision because of social media posts, specifically a Facebook post, or by community comments about threats of public disorder or violence if Christensen was not convicted of First Degree Murder.
District Judge David Lester considered the evidence and disagreed on Monday, December 5th.
Christensen will be eligible for parole after he has served a minimum of 70 percent of the sentence or 35 years. The court says Christensen also needs to pay $150,000 of victim restitution to Bortvit’s parents, court costs, and over $27,500 to the Crime Victim Assistance Program.
