CALDWELL -- A 45-year-old Nampa man will spend the rest of his life in prison for the 2003 stabbings death of Bob and Idella Young.
Judge Gregory Culet ordered Pete Roberts to serve two life sentences with no possibility of parole.
Roberts pleaded guilty in February to two counts of first-degree murder. In exchange for his guilty pleas, prosecutors agreed not seek the death penalty. Two charges of kidnapping were also dropped. Roberts cannot file an appeal of his sentence.
In a Canyon County courtroom Friday, Roberts apologized to the victims' family members.
"I just want to say I lost control. I lost control of my mind. I hope both families can find closure and peace in all this. I am truly and deeply sorry about it all," said Roberts.
The elderly couple was tied up, stabbed and tortured then left to die on Christmas Day 2003.
Roberts, a former tenant, was arrested five years later after a traffic stop on Nov. 7, 2008. Nampa Police investigators say DNA evidence linked Roberts to the murders.
The daughter and granddaughter of Bob and Idella Young spoke in court Friday morning.
They said what had happened to their parents was disgusting, devastating and that it will be something they will never forget.
"The judge said it very well, he said that our family will have closure to this piece of it. But we will never have complete closure. Every day we will wake up and know what happened and nothing can take that away," said daughter Kathy Young-Loggins.
"Personally I wanted the death penalty, he's lived longer than I think he deserved because they didn't get to," said granddaughter Decembre Noriyuki.
The Young family also said they toured the prison where Roberts would be held for the rest of his life and were glad to see his life would be very limited.
