MINOT — He murdered his father, widowed his mother, denied grandchildren their grandfather, and complained to the judge that he hadn’t been outside in three years. A few moments later Christopher Vickerman received a sentence of 100 years behind bars.
Vickerman, 32, appeared at his sentencing hearing in North Central District Court in Minot Tuesday. After a series of delays, a jury found him guilty in November 2021 of murdering his father, Mark Vickerman, Minot, on May 10, 2019.
Well known and popular in the community, active in several sporting organizations, the killing of Mark Vickerman shocked the community. His son, Christopher, had gone to his father’s home and when his father opened the door, shot him four times with a .22 caliber revolver. Christopher Vickerman was arrested at the scene shortly thereafter and charged with murder.
In the courtroom Tuesday, his mother, Anastasia, addressed the court prior to sentencing. She began, through tears, by saying to her son that, “I love you. I will always love you.”
Christopher Vickerman, in shackles and handcuffs and in black and white striped prisoner’s garb, sat emotionless. He was cold appearing, almost lifeless as he stared at his mother crying in the court’s witness chair.
“My heart is shattered. I cannot put into words what I’ve gone through,” said Anastasia Vickerman. “I want to hear you say you’re sorry you broke my heart, sorry for what you did.”
In asking for a life sentence without parole, State’s Attorney Rozanna Larson told the court that Christopher Vickerman, “Does not show, or accept, any remorse for taking a life.”
Judge Douglas Mattson, who paused several times, his voice breaking when speaking to Christopher Vickerman, told him, “What you did was despicable. There is nothing that indicated your father was a threat. Quite the opposite. He bent over backwards in your struggles.”
Mattson sentenced Christopher Vickerman to 100 years in prison, with 20 suspended, meaning Christopher Vickerman would not be eligible for parole for at least 68 years. He is 32 years old now.
