HASTINGS - Duane Woodwyk sat in the Barry County Circuit Courtroom hunched over and fighting back tears as he stared at the last school picture taken of his 16-year-old son, Travis.

Cody Wagner, 16, also sobbed and hid his face as he described the September day he fired a shotgun at his friend Travis Woodwyk, killing the Thornapple Kellogg High School sophomore.

On Friday, Wagner was sentenced as an adult by Circuit Court Judge James Fisher for conviction of manslaughter and tampering with evidence in Woodwyk's death, charges that together carry a minimum of seven years in prison.

Wagner pleaded guilty Sept. 30 to the manslaughter charge, which carries a maximum penalty of 15 years.

"I'm really, really sorry for what I did," Wagner said. "I even have suicidal thoughts every day because I think that I killed Travis. I just can't live with it."

Wagner testified on Friday that he grabbed the single shotgun from his father's bedroom, loaded the gun in the kitchen of his home, and pointed it at Woodwyk to scare him.

Wagner, also a sophomore at Thornapple Kellogg, said he was talking on the phone to his girlfriend as he held the gun when the receiver slipped from his shoulder, causing him to accidentally pull the trigger.

"The phone started slipping and I forgot all about my finger on the trigger," Wagner said. "I was just trying to scare Travis like I always did. I never thought that something like this could happen."

Wagner then said he placed the gun into Woodwyk's hand and initially told police it was a suicide.

David Oakland of the Michigan State Police testified that Wagner later admitted during questioning that he shot Woodwyk.

"He maintained that he was in his bedroom and that Travis had been out of the bedroom for 10 to 15 minutes and that's when he heard the shot," Oakland said. "Later he told me he had the phone on his shoulder and was holding the gun and the phone started to slip, so he reacted."

Wagner's attorney, David Makled, tried to convince Fisher that his client should be sentenced as a juvenile, which would place him in the state's custody and into a detention center until age 21.

Barry County Assistant Prosecutor Kerri Rapacz, however, asked the judge to send Wagner to prison. She argued that Wagner previously had completed safety training for hunters and should have known the dangers of handling a gun.

"There is no doubt that this is a tragic case with tragic circumstances, but it's a tragedy that could have been avoided," she said.

Before Fisher announced Wagner's sentence, several members of Woodwyk's family explained to the court how the loss has torn their family apart. They said Woodwyk, a young man who loved basketball, pizza and adventures, would be missed.

"Some nights I can't sleep," said Woodwyk's grandmother, Violet Woodwyk. "He wants us to forgive him, but I can't. Cody, I can't."

Kelly Carr is a general assignment reporter. She can be reached at 966-0694 or kcarr@battlecr.gannett.com

PRECIOUS MEMORIES

Click On Travis' Picture

<BGSOUND SRC="Wheresthejusticeformychild.wav" LOOP="99"> Vocals: Anthony Holland

Barry County teen sentenced to prison for killing friend