Jul 20, 2008 8:15 am US/Eastern
Son Talks To WJZ About Role In Murder, Cover-Up
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (WJZ) ―
A son is sentenced after his troubled mother pleaded guilty to murdering her boyfriend.
Mike Hellgren reports Matthew Haarhoff faced the same judge for his role in the crime Thursday.
"If I could take it back, and give my life for it, I would," said Matthew Haarhoff.
For the first time, Matthew Haarhoff is speaking about the murder investigation that put him behind bars for more than two years.
"They say I did confess, but I never did," said Haarhoff.
A judge accepted Haarhoff's guilty plea Thursday for helping his mother Cynthia McKay dispose of her boyfriend Anthony Fertitta's body.
McKay plead guilty to murdering Fertitta.
Prosecutors say she stole his money then stabbed him to death at her home in Millersville when she found out he planned to confront her.
She then doused his body with gasoline and lit him on fire.
"I hope she doesn't ever get out of jail. I hope she dies in jail for real. And that's from the bottom of my heart, even though she's my mother," said Haarhoff.
McKay has a long history of trouble, like stealing money from her employers, including nearly a quarter million dollars from St. Mary's Seminary in Baltimore.
Just before McKay was set to serve jail time in that case, she faked her own death in Ocean City.
"She weasels her way in, gets their trust, and goes straight for the bank," said Haarhoff.
McKay's former husband Clarence Downs died in a suspicious house fire in Baltimore County before she met Fertitta. Initially ruled an accident, police have re-opened the Downs case, though McKay has never been charged.
"I just want to know the truth, and having her lie to me for the past 20 years of my life, it hurts," said Haarhoff.
Haarhoff believes his mother will never be rehabilitated. She got a 30-year sentence for Fertitta's murder, part of what's called an Alford plea.
That means she never admitted guilt but acknowledged the state had the evidence to win a conviction.
Haarhoff is torn between believing in his mother's guilt and innocence.
"It's hard because I'm still fighting the battle of loyalty that I have towards her," said Haarhoff.
Haarhoff got an 18-month sentence, as an accessory after the fact, for Fertitta's murder. It was suspended with three years probation. He too entered an Alford plea.
"I can say I'm sorry, but that's not going to bring him back. I'm definitely sorry for what she put his family through," said Haarhoff. "I survived. I survived this far, and I don't plan on stopping."
Haarhoff says he will move to Florida to live with family members.
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