{"id":262109,"date":"2026-04-11T03:02:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-11T03:02:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/262109\/"},"modified":"2026-04-11T03:02:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-11T03:02:09","slug":"life-for-gunman-in-radio-execs-killing-in-east-sacramento","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/262109\/","title":{"rendered":"Life for gunman in radio exec\u2019s killing in East Sacramento"},"content":{"rendered":"

The man who shot and killed former public radio executive Charles Starzynski during a daylight robbery<\/a> outside an East Sacramento tennis club in 2022 will spend the rest of his life in prison for the murder, a Sacramento Superior Court judge ruled Friday.<\/p>\n

DeSean Leon Brasser Jr., shot Staryzynski at close range Oct. 20, 2022<\/a>, as he reached into the trunk of his car outside the Sutter Lawn Tennis Club in East Sacramento. Sacramento County prosecutors said Brasser tracked the man from a bank\u2019s automatic teller to the club at 39th and N streets, where he snatched a cash bag and shot Starzynski in the head.<\/p>\n

Brasser was arrested hours after the killing. A Sacramento Superior Court jury convicted<\/a> the 26-year-old Brasser less than a day after his murder trial concluded in March.<\/p>\n

He will serve life in prison without the possibility of parole. Sacramento Superior Court Judge Michael Sweet also found true allegations that Brasser used great violence and engaged in violent conduct when he ambushed Starzynski, in what Sweet called \u201can extremely callous act.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Prosecutor Prosecutor Kevin Jones, right, speaks with the judge during the sentencing of DeSean Leon Brasser Jr., left, alongside defense attorney Alex Asterlin, for the October 2022 murder of Charles Starzynski at the Gordon D. Schaber Sacramento County Courthouse on Friday, April 10, 2026. Brasser was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. REN\u00c9E C. BYER rbyer@sacbee.com <\/p>\n

\u201cMr. Starzynski didn\u2019t know it was coming. He didn\u2019t even know it was happening,\u201d Sweet said from the bench. \u201cFor whatever reason \u2014 probably because he could \u2014 (Brasser) shot Mr. Starzynski, a 70-year-old man, who offered little or no resistance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Starzynski had celebrated his 70th birthday 10 days earlier.<\/p>\n

At a Friday sentencing hearing, Starzynski\u2019s friends and family described the man whose life was taken that day. The morning hearing took on the tone of a memorial for a well-loved man who had lived a full life.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was a sweetheart. The exact opposite of his killer,\u201d longtime friend Timothy Weir said from the witness stand as family members and Brasser, alongside defense attorney Alexander Asterlin, looked on. \u201cHe was brilliant, he never held a grudge against anyone. Charles was a man who was good. The shock will never go away. The loss will never be regained.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asterlin, the defense attorney, said Brasser showed remorse and was ready to apologize for Starzynski\u2019s killing, saying the murder was not planned and was committed out of panic.<\/p>\n

Brasser interrupted his attorney.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t do anything to be sorry for,\u201d Brasser said. \u201cI\u2019m not a \u2018sorry\u2019 person.\u201d<\/p>\n

Starzynski, an early architect of KXPR-FM and KXJZ-FM, the Sacramento classical and jazz radio stations became Capital Public Radio, later teamed with his wife, Karsan Elliott, in her family\u2019s longstanding health food business. The two married in 1983, weaving their love of theater into their home ceremony. Karsan recited Shakespeare from the staircase as she descended to take her vows.<\/p>\n

On Friday, she remembered their long marriage as \u201ca match made in heaven.\u201d She and her husband had retired and bought a home in his native Albuquerque, New Mexico, close to family as they planned their next chapter.<\/p>\n

Their dreams ended with a gunshot.<\/p>\n

\"Karsan Karsan Elliott, right, speaks to the court about her husband, Charles Starzynski, who was murdered in 2022, before the sentencing of DeSean Leon Brasser Jr. at the Gordon D. Schaber Sacramento County Courthouse on Friday, April 10, 2026. Brasser was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the October 2022 murder. REN\u00c9E C. BYER rbyer@sacbee.com <\/p>\n

\u201cThis man has destroyed a 40-year romance,\u201d Karsan Elliott said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis killer didn\u2019t have to sort through the mail that moved between enthusiastic birthday cards and condolences. He didn\u2019t have to call friends and feel everybody\u2019s shock over and over,\u201d niece Amber Elliott said through tears. Starzynski, she said, \u201cbelieved in the goodness of others. This is the person Brasser hunted and killed.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Sacramento, Starzynski was Charles. In New Mexico, he was Charlie, ready to return home where he was the \u201ccool uncle,\u201d the bon vivant who dazzled in the kitchen with expansive gourmet meals, animated conversations about classical music and theater, and travels abroad with his wife, Karsan.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019d made a home in Albuquerque. That\u2019s all gone now,\u201d his brother James said from the courtroom\u2019s lectern.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis whole journey has been sad,\u201d James Starzynski continued. \u201cBrasser made an unfathomably foolish decision, a single bullet crashing through so many lives, ending Charlie\u2019s, and throttling his own. We\u2019re left to go on without Charlie, this treasure of our lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Joy Joy Read gives a victim impact statement for her brother-in-law, Charles Starzynski, who was murdered in 2022, before the sentencing of DeSean Leon Brasser Jr. at the Gordon D. Schaber Sacramento County Courthouse on Friday, April 10, 2026. Brasser was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the October 2022 murder. REN\u00c9E C. BYER rbyer@sacbee.com <\/p>\n

This story was originally published April 10, 2026 at 3:36 PM.<\/p>\n

Related Stories from Sacramento Bee<\/p>\n


\n \"Profile
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Darrell Smith<\/a><\/p>\n

The Sacramento Bee<\/p>\n

Darrell Smith is a local reporter for The Sacramento Bee. He joined The Bee in 2006 and previously worked at newspapers in Palm Springs, Colorado Springs and Marysville. Smith was born and raised at Beale Air Force Base and lives in Elk Grove.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The man who shot and killed former public radio executive Charles Starzynski during a daylight robbery outside an…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":262110,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[121,123,122],"class_list":["post-262109","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sacramento","tag-sacramento","tag-sacramento-headlines","tag-sacramento-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/262109","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=262109"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/262109\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/262110"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=262109"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=262109"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=262109"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}