Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
PROVO — Cassandra Pool said she wants to be able to spend holidays with her dad. But, she said, her children will never be able to go rock hounding or visit ghost towns with their grandfather, whom they cherished.
"You took everything from us when you shot and killed my father," she told the man who has admitted to murdering her dad. She said her father had medical issues and wouldn't have been able to defend himself.
Cassandra Pool told Chase Michael Caimi on Tuesday that her dad, 56-year-old Bobby Pool, did not need to die that way.
Bobby Pool's body was found in the driver's seat of a van in a Springville industrial area on Oct. 8, 2022, after police said he had called 911. Although he had been shot, there was not a gun in the vehicle.
Caimi, 33, was arrested on Jan. 4, 2023, on a federal warrant in Colorado. After his arrest, Caimi's girlfriend agreed to be interviewed, again. Charging documents said she told officers they had been drinking that evening and he told her he was going to shoot Bobby Pool, walked to the van, opened its door and shot twice.
Caimi was sentenced on Tuesday to three to 25 years in prison for murder, a second-degree felony with a gun enhancement; one to 15 years for obstruction of justice, a second-degree felony; and zero to five years for witness tampering, a third-degree felony. Caimi pleaded guilty to the charges on Sept. 17.
Cassandra Pool said because of the length of the case there were 18 months when she couldn't trust anyone and had to push people who had ties with Caimi away from her.
"No one should have to live with the loneliness and pain that I now have to live with," she said.
She said Caimi showing up, smiling, at her dad's funeral "makes me sick." Her mom, Annie Pool, also spoke about Caimi's "audacity" showing up at the funeral.
She said her husband was a proud Marine Corps veteran and told Caimi that taking his life was "extremely selfish," and his parents are sad they lost time with him.
"People come into our lives for a reason, a season, and a time. I believe in the Lord and the power of prayer so my heart and mind will ease with time," Annie Pool said.
Judge Robert Lund said he was on warrant duty during the investigation and the case seemed "like a total mystery."
"I didn't know that the case was ever solved until I was assigned today to cover this hearing," he said.
The judge ordered the sentences to run consecutively, consistent with what the plea deal proposed, meaning Caimi will spend at least four and up to 45 years in prison.
Caimi was initially charged with murder, a first-degree felony, which carries a sentence of at least 15 years and up to life, but the charge was reduced as part of a plea deal.
"I know there's nothing that I can say that'll make it all right, but I truly am sorry," Caimi said before the Tuesday sentencing.
