Steven Fitzgerald refused to give up on his troubled son - but in the end, his devotion was rewarded by his death.

"He kept trying to save him," Steven's brother, John Fitzgerald, said in a Jefferson County court Thursday at the sentencing of Michael Fitzgerald, the Westminster man's son.

Michael had made repeated threats to harm his family and finally made good on them by helping kill his father on Nov. 8, 2004, while burglarizing the family home with a friend, Michael Tate, 16. Both boys were runaways from social services who were living in a vacant building near the Fitzgerald home.

Michael Fitzgerald, then 17, told police that Tate stabbed his father several times as they fought in the garage and Steven Fitzgerald, 41, tried to defend himself. When Steven Fitzgerald fell to the ground from his wounds, Tate hit him with a post-hole digger, he said.

Michael Fitzgerald, now 20, was sentenced to 62 years in prison. Charged with first-degree murder, he was spared a life sentence by pleading guilty to second-degree murder and agreeing to testify against Tate at his trial in August.

Several family members said they believed Michael Fitzgerald should spend the rest of this life in prison to ensure the safety of his mother and sister.

Jessica Fitzgerald, 13 at the time of her father's murder, found the man she described as her "Superman" dead on the floor of the garage when she returned home from school.

She said at the sentencing that countless delays in the case forced her and her mother to repeatedly relive the horror of her father's death. She said she still has nightmares about it.

"It tore my mother and I apart," she said. "All my dad did was love him and hope he would turn around."

"All I wanted was a brother, but you were never that," she said, addressing Michael Fitzgerald.

The young man's mother, Kris Fitzgerald, speaking in a strong, clear voice despite her tears, said her family is "healing from grieving, still in mourning and still in shock" from her husband's death. She said Steven Fitzgerald was steadfast in his belief that his son could be rehabilitated.

"Even on the day of his death, he voiced to me his continued belief in Michael," she said.

Turning to her son, she said, "You can't even imagine what you put us through."

Michael Fitzgerald, diagnosed with attention deficit disorder and schizophrenia, sat stonily during most of the emotional sentencing hearing - including his mother's remarks - wiping tears from his eyes only when photos were shown of his father.

Although relatives said he had no remorse for the brutal murder, he apologized to his family during the hearing.

"I think about my dad every day and wish this never happened," he said. "I miss my dad so much. I know my family does, too. I only hope some day they can forgive me.

"I want my mother and my sister to know I love them a lot and always will. I hope they will talk to me some day and that some day we can be a family again. For the rest of my life, I will regret what happened to my dad every single day."

But John Fitzgerald, who described his nephew as "a contemptible individual," said he doubted his sincerity.

"He said a lot of things while growing up. He was a consummate liar. I hope he means what he said. Do I believe it? Not 100 percent."

lindsays@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5181