TRAVERSE CITY, MI – A 21-year-old Traverse City man convicted of killing 16-year-old Carly Jean Lewis has been re-sentenced to his original prison term of 40 to 70 years in prison, UpNorthLive.com reported on Friday, Jan. 24.
Robert Jensen Schwander was earlier sentenced to the same term but a state Court of Appeals panel ordered Grand Traverse County Circuit Judge Thomas Power to re-sentence Schwander. Two of the three appellate judges determined that Power did not sufficiently explain why he deviated from sentencing guidelines that called for a minimum term of 13½ years in prison.
Schwander was then sentenced to 38 years in prison. An appeal followed, which led to the third sentencing on Friday when the original sentence was re-instated, UpNorthLive.com said.
Judge Philip Rogers handed down the sentence, 9&10 News reported.
The appeals court had ordered a new judge to handle the sentencing.
The girl’s disappearance led to a community-wide effort to find her in 2011.
Schwander, the son of a Grand Traverse County sheriff’s deputy, told police where her body could be found 12 days after she went missing. Schwander had lived with the victim’s family for a time. He said he killed her after a fight.