Man gets life in prison without parole for murdering wife, friend

Sentencing comes on anniversary of crime

A Poth man pleaded guilty to the double murder of his wife and friend Monday, on the one-year anniversary of their death.

John Waclawczyk shot and killed Justine Waclawczyk and Andrew Toscano with a shotgun at the couple's home in Poth on June 10, 2018. In exchange for avoiding the death penalty, Waclawczyk entered a guilty plea, accepting a sentence of life without parole instead.

“Every year, this day is going to bring so much pain and raw emotion," said Justine's mother, Margaret Hosseini-Browder, who asked KSAT to use her daughter's maiden name, Hosseini. "However, it brings some solace to us knowing that he took two lives and he lost his as well."

The exact circumstances behind the murders have not been made public, with 81st Judicial District Attorney Audrey Gossett Louis said, "There's lots of different motivations that we believe may have been involved." 

Hosseini-Browder said she learned some details through court testimony, such as the fact that her daughter was found near the door, with her purse. 

"Justine was trying to leave that night for whatever reason, and he should have let her go and take her home later," she said.

Though the legal case is now finished, with Waclawczyk having given up the right to any appeals, Hosseini-Browder said her family won’t ever be done dealing with her daughter's death.
            
"The absence of her presence is deafening to us. There's not a day goes by that we don't think about her," she said.

Hosseini-Browder said her family would be hosting a balloon release at their Adkins home Monday at 7:30 p.m. for the friends and families of both victims.


About the Authors:

Garrett Brnger is a reporter with KSAT 12.

Julie Moreno has worked in local television news for more than 25 years. She came to KSAT as a news producer in 2000. After producing thousands of newscasts, she transitioned to the digital team in 2015. She writes on a wide variety of topics from breaking news to trending stories and manages KSAT’s daily digital content strategy.