‘You want to commit murder? Come to Horry County.’ Killer set to leave jail after 18 months
Dismayed after learning the man who killed his father will leave jail after serving less than two years, Nick Yobak said the sentence was not justice.
“Nope,” Yobak said, his eyes red with tears, “not at all.”
Nick Yobak’s brother, Christopher, admitted to shooting and killing their father, Charles, in 2017. On Thursday, Christopher Yobak pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter during a hearing in Horry County court.
He faced a maximum of 30 years in prison and the state recommended a five-year sentence. Nick and his wife, Beth Edgeworth, pleaded with the court to give Christopher the maximum. Judge Larry Hyman sentenced Christopher Yobak to 15 years in prison — but suspended it for the 18 months he has already served since his arrest and five years of probation.
“You want to commit murder? Come to Horry County,” Nick Yobak said as he left the courthouse. Later he added, “I just don’t understand Horry County.”
Nick Yobak said his father was a retired New York highway worker who moved to Horry County shortly before the shooting. The “big Italian” — as Nick and Beth described Charles — was kind, gentle and funny.
“He was great,” Nick Yobak said. “He loved us. He would do anything for us.”
Charles, 62, loved his grandkids and was a member of the Southbury Community board, Nick and Beth said.
They described Christopher as the opposite of his father. They said Christopher had substance-abuse issues and was violent in the past. Shortly before the shooting, Christopher got mad after children laughed at him when he drunkenly burnt grilled cheese on the stove, Nick and Beth said.
“My brother shot my father in the room next to where [Christopher’s] 3-year-old daughter was sleeping,” Beth Edgeworth said as she read a letter in court that Nick wrote. “She heard the gunshot and still speaks of them.”
A police report said Charles Yobak was abusive to his wife, Assistant Solicitor D. Tyler Bratton said. Police said Christopher woke up to Charles assaulting his wife when he shot him. Charles’ wife was in the courtroom and scoffed when Edgeworth started to talk about the impact of the killing.
Christopher Yobak’s only prior conviction was for misdemeanor assault in the late 1990s, Bratton said.
Edgeworth said if Christopher was released he would return to the same home where he shot his father five times.
“Everyone knows what a danger this man is,” Edgeworth said, reading Nick’s letter. “Chris is, and always has been, a heartless and cold man that will kill again if he gets off.”
