The family of a Lacassine man who was fatally shot and his body hidden in the woods say they are frustrated and disappointed after charges against the accused killer were downgraded.

They have waited nearly five years for justice, but they say there is no justice after the man accused of shooting and killing 33-year-old Victor Paul Martin recently pled no contest to a lesser charge of manslaughter.

“I feel like we were kind of let down, not by any person in particular, but it felt as though the situation was not treated as seriously as it was,” Alexandra Hainkel, said talking of the 2018 slaying of her first cousin. “It was not a fight at a bar that got out of hand. This was a very nasty, gruesome crime that got out of hand.”

Matthew Clement Markwood, 38, of Lake Charles recently pled no contest in the 31st Judicial District Court to a reduced charge of manslaughter in the June 28, 2018 fatal shooting of Martin. Markwood will likely serve only 15 of the 20-year sentence due to credit for time served under the sentencing set by Judge Steve Gunnell.

An obstruction of justice charge was dismissed as part of the plea deal.

Hainkel, who spoke to the American Press on behalf of the family, including Martin’s grandmother who lives in Welsh, said the family feels victimized all over again after the second-degree murder charge was reduced to a lesser charge of manslaughter and Markwood was not given the maximum 30-year sentence.

Markwood is accused of shooting Martin multiple times with a shotgun while Martin was on his own porch, then using his truck to move the body to a wooded area near his own property located at the end of Melanson Road, just south of U.S. 90, in Lacassine. There authorities believe Markwood tried to bury Martin before leaving his body face down in the dirt near a fallen tree.

Markwood later confessed to his father, who alerted authorities.

Hainkel said the plea deal was presented to the family, despite receiving very little information on what had led to the fatal shooting and the extent of Martin’s injuries.

“At that time we were just kind of tired of all of it,” she said. “It kept getting pushed back to trial and we went through four district attorneys, so we were like ‘Okay, this is fine.’ At that point there was not much else we could do, but kind of go with it, because at the end of the day, it is not the family’s decision on how the D.A. decides to prosecute.”

“Part of our frustration was when we sat down with them and gave our support, we did that with no real information about what had happened or the severity of what had happened.”

The American Press reached out to District Attorney Lauren Heinen for a comment, but she did not respond to emails or phone calls.

A Facebook post from the District Attorney’s Office said the state argued and presented evidence to the court that Markwood should be sentenced to the full 30 years due to the nature of the crime.

Hainkel said the family has learned that Martin was shot multiple times, although only two spent shot shells were recovered. Injuries were reported to his upper body, face, head and neck, she said.

Since the slaying, the family has only received “bits and pieces” of what occurred and how Markwood attempted to cover up the murder, mostly from rumors, she said.

The families’ support of the plea deal would have likely been different if they had known more of the details, including the extent of Martin’s injuries, she said.

“If he had stopped and called 911, we would have had a much different opinion, but he shot him, moved the body and started digging a hole to bury him,” she said.

The family was told that Markwood wrote a six-page statement to the judge, but was not made aware of what the statement included, she said.

“At the end of the day, there were only two people there and only one made it out alive, so I don’t believe we will ever get a straight story on what really happened,” she said

The family learned that Markwood had confessed to the crime, but was told his story kept changing and that he tried to blame it on PTSD.

“At one point he was claiming self-defense and that Victor had pointed a gun at him and fired it in the air, but there were no shell casings found, he did not have any gunshot residue on his hands and his pistol was found next to his body still in the holster,” she said.

Hainkel said the whole ordeal has been traumatizing for the family, many who submitted victim impact statements to the judge prior to sentencing.

“It has been hard on the family because we have sat through almost five years of meetings and discussions and you don’t know what to do because there is no playbook for when your family member is murdered,” she said.

She said it has been especially difficult on his grandmother who has struggled to find forgiveness in her heart for an unforgivable act.

Markwood has shown no remorse and has never apologized to the family, she said.

“I felt like this guy did a horrible thing and the family and the public still doesn’t know the details,” she said, noting that no evidence or witnesses were presented before the sentencing. “He doesn’t even have to stand up and say, ‘Yes, I did it.’ He just stands up and says I’m pleading no contest, which essentially means I know you have evidence to potentially convict me, but I’m not going to say I am guilty.”

Hankel said it is unfair to the community to have someone capable of such a “horrific crime” to be back in the community after spending a short time in prison.