Herz attended East Grand Rapids High School with Krebs. Stifler, meanwhile, played lacrosse at the fictional "East Great Falls High School."
Like Stifler, Krebs apparently never quite grew out of his "drunk and disorderly" phase. Unlike Stifler, his actions were decidedly unfunny.
On April 17, 2011, Krebs — preppy, with a "meaty" five-foot-eleven-inch build and curly red hair — wandered into the Fort Lauderdale biker-bar Fishtales and ordered $8 worth of alcohol, only to realize he was $2 short on the tab. This being Krebs, a man with a long, documented history of violence and legal issues, his response, according to his lawyer Richard Castillo, was to write out a check to "The Biggest Cunt Ever."
Krebs then went home, got changed, filled his pockets with steak knives, and returned to Fishtales at around 3:30 in the morning. He burst back into the bar and proceeded to shout and cause something of a ruckus before the few regulars still there intervened. Krebs responded by punching one on the shoulder.
It was then that Jimmy Pagano, a large, teddy-bearish local drummer and music promoter, stepped in. Pagano, who had a gap-toothed smile and warm sense of humor, was one of the most well-known — and well-liked — musicians in Fort Lauderdale.
"Tell you what," Pagano, 57, said to Krebs. "I'll pay your tab if you get the hell out of here. Just go."
Krebs instead charged at the crowd that had gathered and rewarded Pagano for his offer by knifing him in the neck. Pagano collapsed to the floor and died almost instantly.
Krebs was eventually charged with one count of second-degree murder and five counts of attempted second-degree murder with a deadly weapon. The case was then marred by an astounding five years' worth of delays — Krebs' lawyer, Richard Castillo, said that when he took up the case, two-and-a-half years in, there were still 75 witnesses who needed to be deposed. The case finally went in front of a Broward County jury on June 6.
According to Castillo, the jury deliberated for "about six hours" before returning a verdict last Wednesday, June 15: The jury found Krebs guilty of murder, but acquitted him on the attempted murder charges.
Krebs had maintained that he stabbed Pagano in self-defense. He said he was hit in the back with something that "felt like getting stabbed," which led him, in turn, to stab Pagano in the neck. But the jury didn't buy it. Castillo now says his client was stunned.
"He was enjoying watching us," Castillo said. "We're going to file a motion for a new trial. He feels confident about the appeal. He was in good spirits."
Krebs' sentencing hearing is set for August 19.
Pagano's friends and family had set up a remembrance page on Facebook: On Wednesday, they posted this reaction:
