Look at me.
Why am I not surprised?
Next, we're in San Diego, California for the sentencing
of John Gardner.
The 31-year-old pled guilty to two counts of murder
during the commission of rape of two teenage girls.
Gardner abducted 14-year-old Amber
DuBois as she walked to school.
And a year later, 17-year-old Chelsea King while she
was jogging in a park.
Neither victims' body was initially found.
But physical evidence recovered near where King was abducted
linked Gardner to the crime, after his DNA came
back as a match in the state's database
of prior sexual offenders.
The DNA evidence, however, was only
enough to charge Gardner with King's murder, not Amber
DuBois, which investigators suspected Gardner
was also responsible for.
What is your plea?
Guilty.
So in exchange for a guilty plea for both murders
and for revealing the location of DuBois' body,
prosecutors agreed not to pursue the death penalty.
Now, a sentencing before the judge
hands down his punishment, Gardner sits with his head
slumped and eyes down as the victims' parents
address him during their impact statements.
You have taken my daughter and my best friend.
You have taken my youngest daughter's
role model and her innocence.
You have taken a bright shining star from this community
and our world away.
And for what purpose?
To serve your sick, twisted, perverted mind.
Now, with our last hope for justice,
we depend on the prison community
to slowly and painfully cause your remaining days on this
Earth to be a living nightmare.
John, since I learned of your arrest for Chelsea's murder,
I refused to speak your name.
I have called you "monster", "sociopath", "serial killer",
"animal".
You are all of those things.
But as I thought about what I was going to say today,
I realize that names like "monster" and "animal",
in a perverse way, let you off the hook.
Chelsea King's mother then addresses
the lasting impact Chelsea's murder has
had on the victim's brother.
You've stolen from a magnificent
13-year-old boy his magnificent sister and his
ever-present best friend.
That he should be deprived of a future without his sister
is cause enough for you to burn in hell.
Look at me.
Why am I not surprised?
Despite an angry mother's prompting,
Gardner keeps his head down.
Next to take the podium is Candice Moncayo,
a would-be victim who fought off a rape attempt by Gardner
in the very same park where Chelsea King was
abducted just a month later.
Moncayo claimed a hard elbow to Gardner's nose
stunned him long enough for her to escape.
Ultimately, it's Moncayo's last question that gets the biggest
reaction from Gardner.
And finally, to ask him how his nose is.
After showing little emotion during the hearing,
that comment seems to provoke Gardner.
And moments later, Judge David Danielson
issues two life sentences without the possibility
of parole for the murders of Amber DuBois and Chelsea King.