Calif. Torture Case: Three Defendants Get Decades in Prison for Torture of Teen
STOCKTON, Calif. (CBS/AP) Three adults who admitted to shackling, torturing and beating a teenager, held captive inside a Central California home for more than a year, have each been sentenced to at least 30 years behind bars.
San Joaquin County Superior Court Judge Terrence Van Oss handed down the sentences to Michael Schumacher, 36, his wife Kelly Law, 32, and the teen's then-legal guardian Caren Ramirez, 45, Monday after each pleaded guilty in October to more than a dozen felonies committed against Kyle Ramirez.
During an emotional statement, Sydney Perry, the boy's aunt, referred to the defendants as "sadistic, demented monsters"; however, most of Perry's anger was directed at Caren Ramirez whom she referred to as "trash...that should've been taken out a long time ago."
Even though the defendants pleaded guilty, Van Oss still handed down the maximum terms allowed under each deal: 34 years for Caren Ramirez, 33 years for Lau and 30 years for Schumacher.
"There really is no explanation for this. I just can't imagine what was going through these folks' minds," Van Oss said. "All the words in the world are not going to do any good."
Ramirez, now 18, testified two months ago that he had been beaten, burned, and starved at the Tracy home of Schumacher and Lau.
The final straw of his agonizing captivity came when he overheard Schumacher and Anthony Waiters, the fourth defendant who was convicted last month and faces life in prison, saying they were going to "chop [him] up and throw [him] in the delta."
The emaciated teen then made a miraculous escape by running through a backyard, jumping on a trampoline, hopping a retaining wall, and stumbling into a nearby health club.
MORE ON CRIMESIDER
November 25, 2010 - Man Found Guilty in Calif. Teen Torture Trial
