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Prison time ordered in contract killing case

Photo

Photo by Matthew Wisniewski

Joseph Chrislaw Sr. making an appearance for a preliminary hearing in solicitation of murder case at the Rock County Courthouse in Janesville.

JANESVILLE — Joseph R. Chrislaw Sr. slouched, rubbed his head and became tearful while speaking at his sentencing in Rock County Court on Wednesday.

"I did not mean to offend anyone or cause this trouble," he said, asking for forgiveness.

Chrislaw, 46, of 733 Kellogg Ave., No. 3, Janesville, is accused of trying to hire a hit man to kill a Janesville City Council member and Chrislaw's estranged wife. The two were dating.

Chrislaw was sentenced to three years and six months in prison. His prison time will be followed by five years of extended supervision.

He previously pleaded guilty to two charges of soliciting first-degree intentional homicide.

Chrislaw is accused of trying to hire an undercover Janesville police officer posing as a Hells Angels motorcycle gang member to kill his estranged Russian wife, Inna M. Cheremisina, 34, and council member Yuri Rashkin, according to the criminal complaint.

Rashkin was in court Wednesday but declined to comment after the hearing.

Chrislaw's attorney, Bob Junig, told the judge that his client loved his Russian wife and invested in her financially and emotionally. He said Chrislaw's wife abandoned him when she became a legal citizen.

Chrislaw has a history of contacting mail-order brides from Russia, Judge James Daley said.

After his wife left him, Chrislaw hired a hit man to kill his wife and Rashkin, her new boyfriend, Junig said.

But Chrislaw changed his mind and stopped the hit, he said.

Chrislaw told the hit man to keep the money and forget about it, Junig said.

Since his arrest, Chrislaw's estranged wife has visited him in jail, he said.

She has forgiven him, Junig said.

Assistant District Attorney Thomas White said Chrislaw doesn't understand the seriousness of his behavior. He said Chrislaw hasn't accepted responsibility. He previously said Chrislaw only tried to stop the killing because his alibi wasn't set.

"It's hard for me to understand how someone can be so out of touch with reality," White said. "You can't have people going out and hiring people to kill people."

The judge told Chrislaw he had trouble differentiating his real life from his fantasy life.

He told Chrislaw he needed to stop living in a fantasy world of computer games, Dungeons & Dragons and mail-order brides from Russia.

"We don't go out in this community and hire people to murder somebody because they have done you wrong." Daley said. "This certainly isn't the type of conduct or the type of plan we hope would be used by our citizens to resolve conflict."