GREENFIELD — A Greenfield man was sentenced to 18 to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter and other charges on Monday, two years after a 35-year-old Pittsfield man’s remains were found at a Chapman Street apartment.

Taaniel Herberger-Brown, 44, previously faced one count of murder and appeared in Franklin County Superior Court to change his plea on the lesser charge that was agreed to by his defense attorney and the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office. He had been in custody since his arrest in April 2024.

In delivering the essential facts to Judge Jeffrey Trapani, First Assistant District Attorney Steven Gagne explained in court that on Feb. 29, 2024, a bartender at Smitty’s Pub on Chapman Street called to report two men fighting. Responding officers identified the parties as Herberger-Brown and Christopher Hairston, who both reportedly appeared to be somewhat intoxicated and told authorities they were friends. Officers determined no crime was committed and allowed the men to leave.

“That was the last time that anyone besides the defendant saw [Hairston] alive,” Gagne said.

Hairston’s body was found wrapped in blankets and trash bags in Herberger-Brown’s apartment at 92 Chapman St. on April 22, 2024, following reports of a bad smell. Herberger-Brown was arrested at Albany International Airport the following day, when he told police that the victim’s “heart stopped” during a physical altercation at his apartment.

Gagne said Herberger-Brown told authorities that, after the fight at the pub, Hairston forced his way into Herberger-Brown’s apartment and punched him. Gagne said Herberger-Brown tried to push away Hairston “and felt he was defending himself.” The two men reportedly started wrestling on the floor, with Herberger-Brown getting on top of Hairston, who stopped breathing.

Gagne noted that Herberger-Brown, a Northampton High School Class of 1999 graduate and U.S. Navy veteran, stands 6-foot-4 and weighed 375 pounds at the time. He also said Herberger-Brown never attempted to call for help and instead hid Hairston’s body in a trash can in his apartment. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner was not able to determine the cause of Hairston’s death due to the condition of his body.

The prosecutor also said the other charges stem from Herberger-Brown’s assault of another man, and the intentional damage he caused to his apartment and the complex’s common laundry room. On these charges, Herberger-Brown was sentenced to five years of supervised probation following his incarceration, and he must follow a mental health treatment plan and have no contact with any victim or their families.

Hairston’s sister, Melanie Asta, and niece, Alyvia Asta, delivered victim-impact statements to Trapani.

Melanie Asta described the disbelief that still haunts her, feeling as though the most gruesome television show has come to life.

“I can’t believe that my little brother, who was more like my son, was killed,” she said.

She described being told by officers of her brother’s death as “a day I will never forget.” She said Hairston was a beloved family member and talented musician.

“You robbed the world of his music,” she told Herberger-Brown, adding how unfair it is that he gets to go on living what she described as his “pathetic life.”

Alyvia Asta cried as she said she tried for a month to write her impact statement, but there are “no right words.” She described her uncle’s kindness and recounted playing with him when she was young.

“No one deserves the situation that me and my family are in,” she said through tears.

Herberger-Brown waived his right to address the court, but his defense attorney, Nicholas Horgan, said his client is “willing to accept responsibility for his actions.”

While Horgan acknowledged it is not a valid excuse, he explained that Herberger-Brown has a long history of mental health struggles and hospitalizations, and was likely experiencing a manic episode when Hairston was killed.