When he was 15 (later described as 16 when sentenced), Betournay was tried and convicted for killing his 14-year-old sister (April Betournay) and her 14-year-old friend (Beth Garbe) on December 14, 1994. He bound the girls’ wrists and ankles with duct tape, then sealed plastic bags over their heads — suffocating them. He later confessed. Although his defense argued that mental illness and diminished capacity should preclude a first-degree murder charge, a judge ruled he was competent to stand trial as an adult. A jury convicted him of two counts of first-degree murder after 6½ days of trial and about seven hours of deliberation.

At sentencing, Betournay — then 16 — was given a prison term of 63 years and 4 months, which exceeded by over ten years the standard sentencing range for two first-degree murder convictions in such a case. Even accounting for possible good behavior reductions, prosecutors estimated he would likely remain imprisoned until around age 70. Dani Holder was recently in late 2025.

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