{"id":38317,"date":"2025-01-08T18:27:48","date_gmt":"2025-01-08T18:27:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2025\/01\/08\/slain-marines-family-let-down-by-killers-8-year-sentence\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T21:15:14","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T21:15:14","slug":"slain-marines-family-let-down-by-killers-8-year-sentence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2025\/01\/08\/slain-marines-family-let-down-by-killers-8-year-sentence\/","title":{"rendered":"Slain Marine\u2019s family \u2018let down\u2019 by killer\u2019s 8-year sentence"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Editor\u2019s note: This story has been updated to reflect Lance Cpl. Austin Schwenk\u2019s military awards.<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe was born at the same hospital he was pronounced dead.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Robert Schwenk Jr., remembering his son, reflected on his birth and death, both of which occurred at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune. Lance Cpl. Austin Brian Schwenk was brought into the world at the North Carolina base when his father served there during the early 2000s. Nineteen years later, his life ended there, too \u2014 at the hands of a fellow Marine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That Marine, Cpl. Jesse Thomas Bopp, was sentenced under a plea agreement Tuesday to eight years in confinement, according to a spokesperson for the 2nd Marine Division. He pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter, and in addition to confinement, Bopp will receive a dishonorable discharge and a reduction in rank to private.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following the sentencing, Robert Schwenk Jr. shared his reaction with Military Times via text.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNot happy at all,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kassandra Christison, Austin Schwenk\u2019s mother, said she was still in shock at the verdict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAustin only had nineteen years on this earth, and he shouldn\u2019t get less than that,\u201d Christison said of Bopp\u2019s sentence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Lance Cpl. Austin Schwenk hugs his sister on Aug. 3, 2023, in North Lima, Ohio. It was the last time she saw him before his death. (Courtesy of Robert Schwenk Jr.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A promising future ended short<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Austin Schwenk grew up idolizing his father. He wanted to be just like him, Robert Schwenk Jr. recalled, and he was well on his way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The younger Schwenk enlisted in the Marine Corps in January 2019 and became<\/a> an electro-optical ordnance repairer with the 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment. He had a promising future, and his awards included the National Defense Service Medal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s all he ever wanted to be his entire life, was a Marine,\u201d Robert Schwenk Jr. said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But on Oct. 18, 2023, that dream was cut short.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That evening, Bopp, who worked in the armory with Austin Schwenk and was assigned to the same battalion, entered Schwenk\u2019s room at the Wallace Creek barracks. Bopp had a firearm, and he had been drinking, according to court documents filed by Bopp\u2019s attorney and shared with Military Times by Robert Schwenk Jr.<\/p>\n\n\n\t