Alex Hribal to speak before sentencing for Franklin Regional attack

For the past four years, the only explanation for why a troubled 16-year-old took two kitchen knives to Franklin Regional High School and used them to slash and stab his classmates was a handwritten manifesto left in his school locker.

On Monday, Alex Hribal, now 20, is expected to speak in court for the first time at a hearing that will determine how long he'll spend in prison for the April 9, 2014, rampage that left 20 students and a security guard wounded.

"I expect he'll make a statement," said his defense attorney, Pat Thomassey.

Hribal is scheduled to be sentenced by Westmoreland County Common Pleas Judge Christopher Feliciani, ending the protracted legal battle that followed his arrest.

Hribal pleaded guilty in October to 43 charges — 21 counts each of attempted murder and aggravated assault, and one weapons offense for taking knives into the school.

District Attorney John Peck said as many as 12 victims and family members could testify in the anticipated daylong hearing to determine how long Hribal will be in prison.

Hribal was a junior at Franklin Regional when police said he walked down a hallway before the start of classes and used the two knives to slash and stab nearly everyone in his path, critically injuring four students. No one died in the attack.

Police found his four-page manifesto, titled "Ragnarok" and dated three days before the attack, in a backpack stowed in his locker. In it, Hribal explained his reasons for the attack, including praise for the two teens involved a 1999 Colorado school shooting and disenchantment with his classmates.

Although Hribal could receive more than 800 years in prison, Peck said he will ask the judge to impose a sentence of 30 to 60 years.

"If you review the victims' statements, it's impossible to not be affected by it, by what the victims and their families suffered from this attack," Peck said. "They are still suffering the aftereffects of this crime."

Those letters, which were not available for public viewing, will be presented to the judge Monday.

One of Hribal's victims was John "Sarge" Resetar , 71, the school's security guard, who was stabbed in the chest during the attack. He died of a heart attack in 2016. Witnesses said Resetar, the vice principal and another staff person were the first to try to stop Hribal.

Amy Garris, the victim-witness coordinator for the district attorney's office, said the prosecution will ask the judge to order Hribal to pay more than $269,000 in restitution to the victims and their families.

According to court documents, many of the victims are seeking money to cover the costs of medical bills, counseling and therapy.

Garris said the state's victims compensation fund already has paid out more than $56,000 to victims as well as other students and school staffers who witnessed the rampage.

While many of the victims have since graduated from Franklin Regional, some going off to college, Hribal has remained in custody since the day of the attack.

He was charged as an adult, and efforts to have his case transferred to the juvenile court system failed. If he had been prosecuted as a juvenile, Hribal could not have been held in custody beyond this October, when he turns 21.

Five of Hribal's student victims testified in a 2015 hearing, describing the attack, their injuries , lengthy hospital stays and slow recoveries.

Several mental health experts said Hribal suffers from mental illness , including depression and schizophrenia. Both diagnoses were the basis for a failed defense effort to have Hribal plead guilty but mentally ill, a move that would have enabled him to serve a portion of his sentence in a mental health facility.

A mental health expert hired by the prosecution previously testified Hribal was aware of his actions, disputed the mental illness diagnosis and said that he was routinely bullied by other students.

"He's depressed and he's sad," Thomassey said last week. "He's been unable to get help for 3 1⁄2 years. I'm very disappointed I could never get anyone to help this kid.

"I still can't figure out why the district attorney didn't allow a guilty but mentally ill plea. Now, he'll go to jail and won't get any help."

Rich Cholodofsky is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724-830-6293 or rcholodofsky@tribweb.com.