2 men sentenced to prison for 2006 slaying

They seemed to listen attentively, the two heavily tattooed young men in jail jumpsuits and handcuffs, but their faces showed no expression as grieving relatives of the man they shot to death three years ago tearfully told a judge how much suffering the crime has caused.

Anthony David Milligan, 22, and Marco Mike Heimuli, 23, were sentenced Monday to five years to life in prison for fatally gunning down Tevita Vaenuku, 18, during a 2006 Fourth of July party in Salt Lake City attended by as many as 60 people. The crime is a first-degree felony with a gun enhancement, or extra time for using a gun to commit it.

Milligan and Heimuli also got two to 15 years behind bars for attempted murder, a second-degree felony that also included a gun enhancement, after shooting and injuring a teenager who recovered.

Third District Judge Randall Skanchy ordered that the sentences run consecutively to each other and any other prison terms. Milligan currently is serving time for a different murder.

In this situation, no one knew exactly what happened or why Milligan and Heimuli ended up firing down a street and shooting Vaenuku.

During opening arguments at the pair's September trial, prosecutors said there had been some talk about a female partygoer being manhandled and someone trying to rescue her, but little is certain other than, at the end, the teenager was wounded and Vaenuku lay dead.

Vaenuku's mother, Katalina, tried to address the judge to tell him how painful it was to lose her son, but she was so distraught her words were almost completely muffled by her tears.

George Vaenuku, the victim's father, told Skanchy that he warned his children to stay out of trouble and recalled the last time he spoke to his son was when he was heading to his late-night job as a baker. Now, he visits his son's grave to talk.

"I know, maybe, he can hear me from the other side," he said.

As for Milligan and Heimuli, "I forgive them," he said. "I don't like what they did to my son."

Sina Vaenuku, the victim's sister-in-law, said everything has changed since Tevita Vaenuku died, and although the family struggles and manages to carry on, their hearts are heavy.

"Our holidays are spent at the cemetery," she said. "We took a birthday cake there, and Tevita's nieces and nephews blew the candles out. My mother-in-law and my husband visit his grave and take fresh flowers almost every day. The impact it has had on our family is tremendous."

e-mail: lindat@desnews.com