Sutter Double Murderer Sentenced To 2 Life Sentences

YUBA CITY (CBS13) - The young man who brutally killed a Sutter couple and then set their house on fire in 2010 was sentenced Friday morning to two life sentences without the possibility of parole.

Joseph Simlick, 23, killed Jack and Susan Martin inside their Mulberry Street home in the community of Sutter in July 2010. Simlick repeatedly stabbed the Martins and then torched their home in an effort to conceal the murders. A bloody 9-inch kitchen knife was found inside the home.

Simlick had been dating the Martins' youngest daughter, Kendall, prior to the killings, but she had ended the relationship. Jack Martin had repeatedly warned Simlick to leave his daughter alone.

Simlick and Kendall Martin attended Sutter High School together. He was arrested a day after the murders at a family residence in Loomis and has been behind bars ever since.

Simlick pled guilty to the murders in December in a deal with prosecutors to avoid the death penalty. The Martins' daughters had pushed for the plea deal to avoid a trial, according to Assistant District Attorney Jana McClung.

Simlick waived his right to appeal as part of the agreement, McClung said.