FORT WAYNE – Grief needed no translation Friday in Allen Superior Court as the mother of Ar Lee sobbed, telling the court about the family’s loss.

Before Judge Fran Gull sentenced Aung Kyaw Thu to 30 years in prison, Ar Lee’s mother spoke of how her son had been in the U.S. all of a month before he was stabbed to death by Aung Kyaw Thu in July.

Ar Lee’s wife and children – ages 5 and 6 – remain in a refugee camp in Thailand, unable to come to this country, So Be said, her words translated from Burmese to English by a court-appointed interpreter.

As So Be tried to speak, sobs broke through her words. She clutched a worn envelope in her hands as she sat next to Allen County Deputy Prosecutor Adam Mildred at a table.

She told Gull she raised Ar Lee as a single mother.

With shaking hands, she took out a document Ar Lee prepared for the government as to why he wanted to come to the U.S. to live with his mother.

Her son was sending money back to the family in the camps, with the plan to bring them all here when he could.

So Be pleaded with Gull to write a letter to the United Nations to help make it possible for her son’s family to come to the States.

“I just need Ar Lee’s wife and two children here,” she cried.

Aung Kyaw Thu, a former Burmese refugee and now a naturalized U.S. citizen, pleaded guilty in December to a charge of voluntary manslaughter, admitting to acting in “sudden heat” when he stabbed Ar Lee in the early morning of July 6.

The pair had been drinking heavily, something was said, and a fight ensued, said Aung Kyaw Thu’s attorney, Michelle Kraus.

But that action was out of character for Aung Kyaw Thu, according to witnesses and Kraus.

The 39-year-old man was known for helping recent Burmese immigrants find jobs, fix cars and connect to the community.

“He’s made me more aware of the closeness (of the Burmese community) and the struggles they had to get here,” Kraus said. “He’s been that person newcomers in the community could come to for help and assistance.”

Aung Kyaw Thu has been remorseful for his actions and knows what he did had horrific consequences for Ar Lee’s family.

“That is a burden he will carry forever,” Kraus said.

Aung Kyaw Thu, also speaking through an interpreter, wiped tears from his eyes as Kraus spoke.

When it was his turn to speak, he stood and faced Ar Lee’s family.

“Please forgive him,” the interpreter said, translating his words.

As she sentenced Aung Kyaw Thu to 30 years in prison, Gull noted that the assistance he provided is now no longer available because of his own actions.

And she said she was struck by the tremendous effect on Ar Lee’s family.

“Nobody in this courtroom needed an interpreter to understand the pain this mother is expressing,” Gull said. “It was heart-wrenching.”

She turned to Ar Lee’s family as she talked about their difficulty in bringing the rest of the family here.

“There’s nothing I can do to make it better for these people, and you have the court’s apologies,” she said.

As part of a plea agreement with prosecutors, an additional charge of aggravated battery was dismissed.

rgreen@jg.net