Family and friends of a pregnant Columbia Falls woman and her teenage son killed in a 2009 car crash fervently requested that the young woman convicted of murdering them apologize during a sentencing hearing Monday in Flathead District Court.

When given a chance, 18-year-old Evergreen resident Justine Winter seemed to stop short of accepting full responsibility.

"I'm sorry for your loss but I don't know what you mean [when you say] you want me to say I'm sorry," Winter said in response to questioning from County Attorney Ed Corrigan.

District Judge Katherine Curtis later sentenced Winter to 15 years in custody of the Montana Department of Corrections with a mandate that she serve at least half of that sentence before becoming eligible for parole. The Department of Corrections will evaluate Winter and determine where the sentence is carried out, whether in prison or some other form of supervision.

Winter's sentencing Monday for two counts of deliberate homicide came two days after she graduated with honors from Glacier High School. She did not attend graduation because she was in jail.

Curtis - who issued two concurrent 30-year sentences but suspended 15 years of each - said she considered the pain and suffering brought on by Winter's actions, but also had to take into account Winter's young age and volatile mental state at the time of the fatal crash.

"I do not believe that Justine needs to be on probation until she is 68 years old," Curtis said.

Curtis heaped praise on the families of 35-year-old Erin Thompson and her 13-year-old son Caden Vincent Odell, who were killed when Winter, driving 85 miles per hour, intentionally crossed the center of U.S. 93 north of Kalispell on March 19, 2009, in an apparent suicide attempt.

Addressing the portion of the courtroom filled with friends, family and supporters of the victims, Curtis said she found their "courage and compassion to be remarkable."

Family and close friends who testified Monday offered the possibility of forgiveness to Winter - but asked her to acknowledge her responsibility for the deaths.

"It's not difficult to believe that they were everything you described them to be," Curtis said of the victims.

Curtis also commented on Winter's continued refusal to accept responsibility for the crash. She said she understands how difficult it must be for the family to be faced with Winter's apparent inability to admit the deaths were her fault.

"The time has passed for debate on the subject of what happened," Curtis said.

Winter's attorneys David Stufft and Maxwell Battle argued during the two-week trial in late March and early February that it was Thompson's vehicle that crossed over into Winter's lane.

The theory was discredited by law enforcement officials, prosecutors, multiple crash reconstruction experts and an eyewitness.

But Winter - both in a written statement and during her testimony Monday - appeared to maintain her belief that it was an accident.

She acknowledged under questioning from Stufft that she had been advised not to speak to the family of Thompson and Odell for legal reasons. She said she has wanted to talk to them since September 2009.

"I just want you guys to know that you may feel I don't take accountability but it's not accountability I need to take," she said. "It's, it's - I don't know what it is."

Winter said she hoped the family of her victims would "be able to forgive the situation and be able to move past it" while "making it a learning experience for everyone."

"I know that we will never know and that is the worst part about it - that we will never know," Winter said.

Caden Odell's father, Craig Odell, provided intense testimony when called by prosecutors, staring directly at Winter and saying "You did it," then allowing a long pause.

"You did it," he said again, still glaring at Winter. "I hope some day you will own it. I don't want to see you spend your life in prison."

Echoing a recurring theme presented by family and friends of Caden Odell and Erin Thompson, he said Winter lived for a reason.

"And it's not to live in denial," he said. "It is not to live as a victim. It is to accept what you've done."

Stufft said Winter suffered brain damage during the crash, perhaps accounting for occasional smiles during her testimony.

Erin Thompson's husband, Jason Thompson, said his family has reserved a place in their hearts for Winter. He said he has chosen to believe that Winter did not intend to kill his wife, stepson and unborn child, but that it appeared she was allowing her attorneys to think for her instead of showing remorse.

"It's just time to accept the facts and the truth that your actions alone led to the deaths of my entire family," Thompson said.

He said the most important thing to do when you have harmed someone is to apologize.

"Even in an impulsive, heartbroken moment you can forever change people's lives," Thompson said. "And when you do so, the world has to know there is a consequence."

Erin Thompson's father, Vince Johnson, described how the decision of an "emotionally distraught teenage girl" had forever changed his life. He said he isn't capable of describing his anguish over the loss.

Thompson's brother-in-law David Young also addressed Winter directly, saying that it appears she considers herself a victim. He recalled that in her own statement, she regarded her story as one of "miraculous survival."

"You did so much more than just miraculously survive a car crash," he said. "You took two vibrant, beautiful people from this earth."

Deputy County Attorney Lori Adams held a poster-sized photo of a smiling and jubilant Odell holding a puppy.

"Who would have ever guessed that his life would be so senselessly taken," he said.

Young said that his family has felt compassion for the Winters since the immediate aftermath of the crash, prompting Winter to cry as she sat beside her two attorneys.

Amber Young, Thompson's sister, spoke longer than any other family member. She began by speaking to Winter directly.

"I wish that you had the blessing of having a sister, Justine," Amber Young said. "She was my heart."

Amber Young described her sister as her soul twin and best friend. She told Winter she had planned to grow old with Erin Thompson, live nearby and raise their families together. She was only a year away from that goal when the crash claimed her sister's life, she said.

"While you may not have planned to kill three people, that is what your actions caused," she said.

Instead of an apology, Amber Young recalled that the family was served with a lawsuit alleging that Erin Thompson had caused the crash. Winter's attorneys did not withdraw the lawsuit until after the guilty verdicts in February.

She described the pain brought on by attending the trial and the dozens of legal maneuvers that preceded and followed it, as well as the suffering caused by the display of photographs showing a deceased Erin Thompson during the trial.

"If I were in your shoes, it would eat me alive to not apologize," Amber Young said.

Thad Johnson, Erin Thompson's brother, said he was thankful the legal ordeal was coming to an end.

He theorized that Winter's parents had failed to tell her the truth about what happened on March 19, 2009. Winter has said she has no memory of the crash. Her attorneys said she suffered severe brain damage.

Thad Johnson, like others in his family, indicated he would like to work with Winter so she can discover the truth of the fatal crash. First, he said, she should be held accountable.

"I'd be happy to work with you after that to try and make a positive out of this story," Thad Johnson said.

Diana Johnson described her daughter as a kind and caring woman who had a gift for seeing the best in others.

"Her primary purpose in life was to spread love, and she did that well," Diana Johnson said.

She said that Erin Thompson's baby would now be 20 months old had the crash not occurred, and that the baby would now be saying names and bringing joy to the family.

"No one is unjustly accusing you," she said. "The facts are what they are."

Stufft called Justine Winter's family to the stand when given a chance to present his own witnesses.

Her mother, Mary Winter, looked toward the families of Thompson and Odell and said they have been in her family's hearts since the night of the crash. She reiterated her stance that no one knows for sure what events preceded the fatal collision, but offered remorse on behalf of her family.

"She is sorry," she said. "And we are sorry from the bottom of our hearts. We feel it every day."

Randy Winter, Justine's father, supported Mary Winter's testimony.

"One life saved would be a profound blessing," he said. "As the doctors have said, she is one in a thousand with a big heart and a will to survive."

Corrigan recommended a 40-year Department of Corrections sentence for Winter.

"We are required to hold Justine accountable for her actions regardless of whether or not she remembered that night," he said.

Stufft said Winter was an individual who had never caused harm to anyone previously. He described her as a good student and a leader.

He said Winter is "small and petite and is affected by brain trauma" while arguing against a prison sentence. He said she was recently assaulted in the Flathead County Detention Center.

"This leads us to know what is going to happen to her if she is sent to prison even for a day," Stufft said, later adding "She will not be the same kind of person that went into the system. She will become hardened."

Another hearing will be held to determine what, if any, restitution Winter will be required to pay the victims' families.

Reporter Eric Schwartz may be reached at 758-4441 or by email at eschwartz@dailyinterlake.com.