A 19-year-old Iowa teen received a life sentence with the possibility of parole after 50 years from Sixth Judicial District Judge Ian Thornhill on Monday.
According to The Gazette, Ethan Orton, who was five months shy of his 18th birthday at the time of the crime, pleaded guilty earlier this year to two counts of first-degree murder for the murders of his parents, Misty Scott-Slade and Casey Orton.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Cedar Rapids police said they responded to a call in the northeast section of the city at about 2 a.m. in October 2021 and found Ethan Orton, 17, sitting outside, covered in blood.
Police said Orton told them he stabbed his parents with a bowie-type knife, but his mother survived the initial attack, so he killed her with an axe. He said he wanted to “take control” of his life, according to ABC 9.
Orton’s lawyer requested a sentence of life imprisonment with parole eligibility after 10 years. The attorney said Orton’s parents had subjected him to years of emotional abuse and that he intended to sever ties when he became an adult.
Prosecutors highlighted that Orton had not received a diagnosis of any mental illness, according to ABC 9, and carried out a meticulously planned attack. The prosecution said the planned-out killings demonstrated a rational thought process as he waited for the victims to fall asleep before murdering them.
Judge Thorton justified the minimum 50-year sentence by pointing out that Orton was almost 18 at the time of the murders, that there was no physical or sexual abuse evidence, and that the crime was savage and well-thought-out.
Orton told jurors that he regretted his actions but that, in the end, had “made peace” with them.
“I even said I’d give my left arm just to get both of them back, see what I could do, but I had to come to a realization that this is what it is today, and thankfully I made peace with that.”
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[Feature Photo: YouTube via The Gazzette]
