By JOHN ANDERSON
William J. Larson Jr., who was 17 at the time of his charges, was sentenced to 20 years without a chance of parole for manslaughter and 15 years to life for murder charges in the case of the death of his mother and manslaughter of his father.
The incident took place on Nov. 21, 2019 on Courtney Hollow Road in Clarksville.
Larson entered a guilty plea in Oct. of 2022 in Allegany County court to second-degree murder.
Larson was 17 when arrested and first went to a secured youth detention facility in Erie County. When he turned 18, he was relocated to the Allegany County Jail where he was detained without bail. In February 2020, an Allegany County Grand Jury indicted him on charges of murder, attempted arson, concealment of a human corpse and tampering with physical evidence.
When the fire took place and bodies were found in 2019, it caused three area schools to close near Clarksville. Troopers made an arrest in 16 hours.
The sentencing also said Larson is to serve 20 years “determinate” in a New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision facility with five years post-release supervision. He was sentenced to 15 years for the murder charge.
Determinate mean a convicted individual is sentenced to serve exactly 20 years in prison, with no possibility of early release by a parole board.
