Child murderer gets death sentence
DNA evidence linked suspect to 1993 slayings
SAN DIEGO, California (AP) -- A man who tortured and murdered two boys he found bicycling along a river in 1993 was sentenced to death Wednesday after hearing one victim's mother say, "You will pay for what you did."
Superior Court Judge Kenneth So endorsed a jury's recommendation to sentence Scott Erskine, 41, to death for the sexual assaults and slayings of Jonathan Sellers, 9, and Charlie Keever, 13.
The boys' bodies were found in a makeshift fort along the banks of the Otay River after they failed to return home from their ride near the U.S.-Mexico border.
Jonathan's mother, Milena Sellers, made a tearful statement to Erskine in court, asking whether her son prayed to God in the moments before his death.
Erskine did not look toward Sellers and appeared to show no emotion as she told him, "God is real. And you will pay for what you did."
Erskine was linked to the boys' murders in 2001 when new DNA extraction techniques recovered biological evidence found on one of the boys. At the time, Erskine was serving a 70-year sentence for raping a San Diego woman six months after the boys' murders.
In October, a jury found him guilty of murdering the boys but deadlocked 11-1 on whether to sentence him to death. A new jury recommended the death penalty in June.
Charlie's mother, Maria Keever, said she was thankful the case was over. "I promised my son that justice would be served, and I'm so relieved that justice was served today."
Last week, Erskine pleaded guilty to murdering a Florida woman in 1989. The plea in the death of Renee Barker, 26, means Erskine is likely to be sentenced to life in prison for the crime, rather than the death penalty.
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