She was walking for her brother, Andrew Singler.

Singler, 23, died after he was stabbed by Okemos resident Connor McCowan in a chaotic incident early in the morning hours of Feb. 23.

McCowan, 19, was sentenced to a minimum of 20 years in prison Wednesday morning after he was found guilty of second-degree murder last month.

Singler had been on track to graduate with a pre-dental degree at spring commencement less than three months later.

After his death, Singler-Maurer took his place, walking through the ceremony on her brother’s behalf.

“My brother wasn’t allowed to accept his diploma,” Singler-Maurer said in an interview with The State News. “Connor took that away from him. He stole so many moments from our lives and from my brother, and will continue to steal them.

There’s no way he can even begin to wrap his mind around that.”

Singler’s death tangled the bond between the Singler and McCowan families, damaging their lives irreparably.

Although McCowan’s sentence provides a sense of closure for the Singler family, Singler-Maurer said their pain will never leave. At every Christmas, Thanksgiving and family dinner, their loss will have a seat at the table, family members said Wednesday.

“As a family, we’re never gonna be over it,” Andrew Singler’s brother, Reeder Singler III, said.

A February night

On Feb. 23, Singler spent his night at local bars with Connor McCowan’s sister Shay McCowan, his girlfriend of two years. The two began to argue over a lost set of keys, and then went their separate ways.

In the hours prior to the incident, Shay McCowan texted her brother, saying Singler had broken her back and ribs. Connor McCowan responded angrily, saying “I’ll f***ing knock his teeth out.”

Connor McCowan then began texting Singler. When the exchange grew heated, he drove to Singler’s apartment in Meridian Township and approached the door with an open flip blade in hand.

During the trial, Connor McCowan testified he showed up at Singler’s door to diffuse the situation and talk it out. But in the eyes of Ingham County Deputy Chief Assistant Prosecutor John Dewane, Connor McCowan’s intent to harm was there from the start.

“What concerns me most is the multiple chances and the opportunities he had just to let this go,” Dewane said in court. “But he chose to go over there, armed with that knife.”

When Singler found Connor McCowan on his doorstep that night, the situation immediately turned violent. Alumnus Tyler Aho, Singler’s roommate, testified that Singler punched Connor McCowan once and was stabbed twice in retaliation. Singler fell into the wall instantly.

Holding a towel to his friend’s chest, Aho drove Singler to Sparrow Hospital in Lansing. Singler moaned in pain and begged to talk to his mother. Then, suddenly, he stopped breathing.

Singler was unresponsive when he arrived at Sparrow Hospital. He was pronounced dead at 5:15 a.m.

A life lost

Until that night, Singler-Maurer never fathomed she would outlive the youngest of her four brothers.

She never imagined she’d see the body of her littlest brother, who used to sleep on her chest as a baby, being examined like a science experiment in the hospital where he once volunteered.

She never pictured the day where she’d have to explain to her 6-year-old daughter what happened to her Uncle Andy.

“She asks me every damn day why the bad guy had to put Uncle Andy in heaven,” Singler-Maurer said in her statement to McCowan Wednesday. “How do I explain why you chose to take her uncle’s life? How do I explain to her that sometimes the bad guys are the people you think are your friends?”

Connor McCowan and Singler became close during the time Singler dated Shay McCowan. Family members said the two were “like brothers.” But for Singler’s own brothers, his death left them with a laundry list of questions.

When Singler’s brother Ryane Johnson wakes up every morning, he sees the faces of his children and wonders if they will remember their uncle one day.

“I … look at my two sons, they’re 5 and 2, and one of them may remember their uncle; the other one will not,” Johnson said in his statement to Connor McCowan Wednesday. “It is beyond anything I could ever imagine, what happened to my brother.”

During his sentencing, Connor McCowan expressed remorse to the Singler family, reading a written statement.

“Andrew was such a positive influence on my life, every day I wish I could trade places with him,” Connor McCowan said, holding back tears. “Going over to his apartment was the biggest mistake I’ve ever made.”

Defense attorney Chris Bergstrom asked Ingham County Circuit Court Judge Clinton Canady III to remain lenient. Bergstrom maintained that Connor McCowan acted in self-defense that night, fearing for his life after Singler struck him in the head.

In her statement, Connor McCowan’s mother, Judy McCowan, said her own son’s life could have been taken if he did not protect himself.

“If my son had not defended himself, he may not be alive today,” Judy McCowan said. “A raging fist to the head in the correct place can kill someone.”

Canady said Connor McCowan’s intent to harm Singler was proven when he stood on Singler’s doorstep with the open flip blade.

“There was ample evidence that there was intent to inflict bodily harm on Andrew Singler,” Canady said. “I’m having a hard time fathoming how you work that into self-defense.”

Connor McCowan could serve up to 60 years in prison. Although it has not taken away their pain, Reeder Singler III said the sentence gives his family the opportunity to take a breath of fresh air.

“It at least gives us a little bit of closure that we feel that justice has been served,” he said. “It’s gonna last forever, every day, but it does give us a minute bit of hope that we can start to get our lives together again.”