Man Gets 60-Year Term in Deaths of Parents
A 22-year-old man who scrawled “Mom” and “Mom and Dad” on shotgun shells before killing his parents has been sentenced to 60 years in prison by a judge who said the man was unrepentant.
Matthew Heikkila ambushed his adoptive parents, Richard and Dawn Heikkila, as they returned to their Bernards Township home on Jan. 29, 1991.
Heikkila was convicted last Dec. 4 on 12 counts of murder, kidnaping, robbery, making terroristic threats and weapons charges. Heikkila was charged with kidnaping his girlfriend and forcing her to spend the night in the family home with the bodies of his parents.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
