COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A man accused of killing a nursing student with a single punch was sentenced Monday.
It’s a case NBC 4 has been following since Sunday, April 6, 2008.
Brent Goode, 22, was sentenced to 31 days in jail, 60 days of house arrest and three years of probation Monday morning in Franklin County common pleas court.
A fight over a bottle of beer turned ugly Sunday, April 6, 2008, when 29-year-old Nick Foss, a nursing student, was punched by Goode outside of Gaswerks, a popular bar in the Arena District.
Nick Foss died three days after the fight, and Goode turned himself in for the crime weeks later.
Goode pleaded guilty to one count of felonious assault, a second-degree felony, Wednesday, June 18, 2009.
As part of a plea agreement, prosecutors dropped a charge of involuntary manslaughter.
Goode already has served 29 days of his 60-day jail sentence; he will serve 31 more days in the Franklin County jail.
Judge Steven McIntosh said in 25 years of law he had not seen such a show of support in the courtroom.
Person after person, friend after friend, family member after family member told the court how Foss’ death left a void in their life.
"The day I lost my brother was the worst day of my life. When Nick passed, I not only lost my brother but I lost my best friend," brother Chris Foss said.
“I was the lucky one to have had a son like him,” mother Terry Ross said.
"I can just remember the way he could make everyone laugh and the way he was so charismatic," cousin Maria Bowsher said.
During sentencing, Foss’ parents told the court time will not heal all wounds and Goode apologized to the family for Foss’ death.
“We've been given a life sentence, and nothing, nothing can even change that,” father Charles Foss said.
“So much was lost over something so stupid. I can't tell you how sorry I am in words, but I will continue to keep you and your family in my prayers,” Goode told Foss’ family.
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