NEW LONDON -- After hearing long, overwhelmingly emotional tributes to Tiara Wheeler from family members still grieving her 2023 death, a judge late Wednesday afternoon sentenced the man whose reckless driving of a dirt bike on a public street led to her death to six years in prison.
Scott M. Whipple, now 27, of Coachman Pike in Mashantucket, pleaded guilty in March to second-degree manslaughter and reckless driving in the accident that killed Wheeler, a 24-year-old Fairfield University graduate and daughter of former NBA player Tyson Wheeler.
Whipple's plea bargain allowed an immediate prison term between three and seven years.
In explaining her choice of a sentence on the high end of that range in state Superior Court in New London, Judge Tamar R. Birckhead echoed arguments by members of Wheeler's family, saying, "This was not a one-time mistake."
Like Wheeler's mother, Farrah Wheeler, the judge described a video taken some time before the fatal accident showing Whipple running a red light, then grinning at the camera.
On Aug. 28, 2023, according to Groton police, Whipple ran another red light while driving at high speed and doing a wheelie with Tiara Wheeler sitting on the gas tank of the dirt bike, which had no passenger's seat, and leaning back on him.
This time, the bike slammed into the side of an SUV that was making a left turn, killing Wheeler and causing a traumatic brain injury and broken bones to Whipple as well, according to his lawyer.
The judge emphasized that the collision resulted from "multiple bad, fatal decisions by Mr. Whipple."
Whipple has been free on $200,000 bond while the case was in court, but, as soon as the judge announced the prison sentence, judicial marshals handcuffed him. After court adjourned, the marshals led Whipple into the courthouse lockup as friends in the spectators gallery yelled words of support to him.
The five members of Tiara Wheeler's family who addressed the judge spent most of their time describing her warmth, devotion to her family and positive effects on those around her, in speeches that were often tearful and elicited tears from people in the spectators gallery. But several speakers eventually turned to their feelings about Whipple.
"Scott, you robbed me of my daughter," Tyson Wheeler said. "You didn't just kill her that day. You shattered everyone who loved her."
He described some of his cherished memories of his daughter, such as her doing homework in his office "to be closer to daddy."
"She was passionate about helping others," Tyson Wheeler said. "Her compassion was unmatched. She gave everything her full effort."
He also said people who wrote letters remembering his daughter included many who had never met each other but ended up saying the same things about her.
Farrah Wheeler recalled the early days of her marriage, when Tyson Wheeler was living the life of an itinerate pro basketball player.
At one point, she said, they were living in Italy, and she worried that her daughter was the only one of her peers who spoke English. But she recalled subsequently seeing Tiara on stage, having fun with friends, and marveled that she "had learned a whole new language without the help of her parents."
At one point, Farrah Wheeler said, she had to take Tiara's brother to the hospital. She remembered her daughter telling her that the doctor wanted to know if her baby brother had a cough, naturally assuming the role of a translator.
But Farrah Wheeler has darker memories as well, such as the day her daughter's clothing and other personal effects were returned to her, including broken jewelry.
"In my mind, I see her terrified at the car coming at her," Farrah Wheeler said.
Shortly after that, Whipple held his face in his hand, one of at least two times during the Wheeler family's statements that he seemed to react emotionally.
Farrah Wheeler said her daughter met Whipple in high school but that he was not her boyfriend or even a close friend -- not someone she followed on social media.
"My daughter should not be blamed for his crimes," she said.
She suggested Whipple has shown lack of remorse by such things as posting online videos complaining about the ankle bracelet he has been required to wear while free on bond or "liking" photos of him riding the motorcycle that later was involved in the fatal accident.
By the time the family and prosecutor finished their presentations, it was near the end of the court day.
Defense lawyer William T. Gerace said he had submitted a written sentencing memorandum but noted in court that Whipple has no prior criminal record. He said Whipple does feel remorse and asked that he be placed in protective custody and provided with his medications.
Under the sentence imposed by the judge, Whipple will be on probation for five years after his release from prison, facing up to six more years behind bars for any violation of release conditions.
Among the conditions are that he have no contact with Tiara Wheeler's family, get substance abuse and mental health evaluation and treatment as deemed necessary by the probation office, submit to random drug tests and never operate a dirt bike on or off public roads.
The judge said she could try to understand the anger felt by the Wheeler family and the "negative emotions" probably felt by Whipple's family as well. But she expressed hope that there can be "some coming together and realizing that we're all human beings."