FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WOWO) -36-year-old, Dustin Neal has been sentenced to 142 years in prison for the 2017 double homicide of Noele Trice and Bryan Lash.
Neal was found guilty of two counts of murder and two counts of robbery resulting in serious bodily injury after a trial in early February.
During sentencing, Neal received 65 years for each murder charge and six years for the robbery charges. According to our partners in news at 21 Alive, the felony murder charges were vacated due to double jeopardy.
The families of the victims, who filled half of the courtroom, have long awaited justice, calling the delay a “living hell.” Kimberly Gomez, Trice’s mother, expressed the difficulty of coping with the loss of her daughter and Lash while raising their son, King, who was only two years old at the time of the incident and is now nine.
In an emotional moment, Audrey Trice, Noele’s sister and King’s aunt, read a letter from King expressing his hatred towards Neal for taking his parents away and his love for them.
Related: Fort Wayne man arrested in connection to 2017 murders
