A Montana man has been sentenced to 80 years in prison for the murder of his 4-year-old stepson, following a conviction for deliberate homicide earlier this year. Kristopher Michael Harasymczuk, 40, was found guilty by a jury in March for the killing of young Jaxsynn Gatlin in 2021, a case that deeply shocked the Billings community and drew national outrage.
The details of the case are both tragic and horrifying. Jaxsynn, a child with autism, died after being submerged in a bathtub filled with scalding water. Initially, authorities were led to believe the death may have been accidental.
According to court documents, Jaxsynn’s mother, Lana Harasymczuk, told first responders that her son had been alone in the bathroom and had likely tripped and fallen into the tub. But when officers arrived, they found inconsistencies in her account — Jaxsynn was lying next to the bathtub, completely dry, and his body felt unusually warm.
The truth began to unravel after the autopsy. The medical examiner determined the cause of death was hyperthermia, caused by exposure to extreme heat, and ruled the manner of death a homicide.
The report revealed the boy’s body temperature was 102 degrees Fahrenheit at the time of his death and that he had extensive bruising across his face and torso, suggesting a history of abuse.
Faced with the evidence, Lana allegedly changed her story. She reportedly admitted to police that her husband had been alone in the bathroom with Jaxsynn moments before the boy was found unresponsive.
She also revealed, according to investigators, that Kristopher regularly beat both Jaxsynn and her other son — a 6-year-old — using a metal spatula as a weapon. These revelations cast a new and disturbing light on what prosecutors argued was a prolonged pattern of violent discipline masked as parenting.
The abuse was not unknown to others close to the family. During the investigation, Child Protective Services spoke with the biological father of the two boys.
He presented photos taken just two days after Jaxsynn’s death that showed red welts and deep bruises on the body of his surviving son. According to an affidavit,
the father claimed those injuries were inflicted by Harasymczuk and described a pattern of violence that included not just beatings, but also forcing the children to perform wall sits, pushing them to the ground, and forcing them down into the bathtub.
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