"I'm a coward, I guess," Reesor said Tuesday during his first hearing before the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole.

The board in the coming weeks will determine how much more time Reesor, now 26, and cohort Andrew Moench, also 26, will spend in prison for the Oct. 31, 1998, death of 15-year-old Bernardo Repreza.

In his statements to the board, Reesor, who is serving up to life in prison for murder, described a scene of chaos and confusion at the corner of 100 South and State Street the night of the murder.

"I had a knife out. I heard someone yell, 'Gun! gun!' " Reesor told board member Curtis Garner. "There was a car driving around hitting people. I had all these emotions running around in my head. I released it all at once and stabbed him."

Repreza's parents and stepfather asked the board not to release Reesor - who pleaded guilty to first-degree felony murder - until he has served more of his sentence.

They also want more prison time for Moench, who pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and was sentenced to prison for up to 15 years for beating the victim unconscious with a baseball bat.

Guidelines used by the parole board in determining sentences suggest Reesor should serve at least 20 years, and hearing officer Kim Allen said he would recommend that Moench serve all 15 years of his term.

About four dozen family members and others showed up Tuesday in support of Reesor and Moench, who have been model inmates, taking college classes and working to pay restitution to the victim's family.

They were raised in good homes by caring parents, and they were not troubled by drug or alcohol problems. Straight Edgers eschew tobacco, alcohol and drugs and oppose sex outside of marriage, but they have been known to use violence against people who do not believe the same.

But that night, to quote the sentencing judge, the defendants were like "a pack of wolves." A medical examiner testified at trial that Repreza died from a 4 1/2 -inch-deep knife wound that severed his aorta. The boy's nose was broken, his skull was fractured and his brain was bruised.

Repreza's stepfather, Gordon Clayton, said he could not understand why the boy, who weighed only 110 pounds, could have presented any threat.

"I was raised a Catholic and my Lord tells me to forgive," Clayton said. "But as we are here today, I do not forgive."

The boy's father, Bernardo Repreza Sr., said, "My life right now makes no sense. They destroyed me, mentally, spiritually and physically."

The victim's mother, Concepcion Romero, sobbed as she urged the parole board to keep Reesor and Moench in prison.

"He is not ready to go [free]," she said of Reesor. "Give him more time in jail. He take the life of my son, my baby."

Moench insisted he has changed.

"I'm a different person who is dedicated to living a better life and becoming a better person."

Said Reesor, "Bernardo was my brother. We're all family. I should have thought of that that night. I just hope they can forgive me someday."

shunt@sltrib.com

Beaten and stabbed

On Halloween night, 1998, 15-year-old Bernardo Repreza was beaten unconscious by Andrews Moench, then stabbed to death by Colin Reesor in downtown Salt Lake City.

Reesor and Moench were associates of the Straight Edge gang, comprised primarily of white middle-class teens known to use violence to enforce their moralistic views against drugs, alcohol, tobacco, extramarital sex and eating meat.

The state parole board is now considering how much longer Reesor and Moench must spend behind bars.