Rafael Aikens, the 24-year-old former Marine convicted of murdering Renee Metcalf, 62, and Christy McKissic, 31, two years ago, was sentenced Friday, and he will spend the rest of his life in prison at Chino. Judge Rodney Cortez handed down a sentence of two terms of life without parole for the murders, followed by two consecutive terms of 25 years for using a firearm to commit the murders. Reporter Laura Berry was in the courtroom during the sentencing…
Three women spoke at the sentencing hearing of Rafael Aikens, who was convicted of the brutal murders of Renee Metcalf and Christy McKissic. Deborah Jacobs, Metcalf’s sister, spoke of her sister’s generosity and her niece’s heartwarming nature. “The verdict was a just one,” Jacobs said, and said of Aikens, “No lower human being exists.” She acknowledged that his family had endured the trial with “grace.” Carrie Beck, a friend of Mckissic’s and Metcalf’s, noted that Friday was McKissic’s birthday, and said “Renee and Christy were needlessly and selfishly taken from us all.” Another friend, Chrystal Farrow, said McKissic could “make anyone laugh” and that “to say our lives were ‘impacted’ is put[ting it] mildly.”
Judge Rodney Cortez told Aikens that in all his years as a lawyer and judge he could not “recall the level of evil” he saw in this case. Aiken’s demeanor changed to one of slight confusion when the judge commented on the defendant’s testimony, which Cortez said was “nothing but a big show.”
