The Bucks County hunter who shot and killed 18-year-old Jason Albert Kutt at Nockamixon State Park in October pleaded guilty on Wednesday, June 7, 2021, and was sentenced to seven to 20 years in state prison.
Kenneth Troy Heller, 52, of Warminster, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter, recklessly endangering another person, possession of an instrument of crime, possession of a prohibited offensive weapon and two hunting law violations.
Kutt, of Sellersville, had been sitting with his girlfriend at the edge of the lake, waiting for the sun to set, when he was shot once in the back of the head, around 5:15 p.m. on Oct. 24, 2020. Kutt was pronounced dead two days later.
Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey L. Finley said he received dozens of letters from relatives and friends of Jason Kutt, describing the impact the teen’s death had on the community. At Wednesday’s sentencing, Kutt’s father, mother and sister, and the mother of Kutt’s girlfriend, gave emotional statements.
“There is no recovering from this,” his father said. “Our hearts will never heal.”