Aspiring Castro Valley Rapper Pleads Guilty In Va. Murders

An aspiring Castro Valley rapper who embraced horror-themed lyrics has pleaded guilty to killing four people in central Virginia.

In a plea agreement, Richard "Sam" McCroskey was sentenced to life in prison Monday.

McCroskey showed little emotion during the hearing in Prince Edward County Circuit Court.

He pleaded guilty to killing his girlfriend, 16-year-old Emma Niederbrock; her parents, Presbyterian minister Mark Niederbrock and Longwood University professor Debra Kelley; and Emma's 18-year-old friend, Melanie Wells of Inwood, W.Va.

A prosecutor revealed that the women were bludgeoned with a wood-splitting tool while they slept on Sept. 18, 2009. Mark Niederbrock was killed with the tool when he came to check on them.

The 20-year-old McCroskey rapped under the name Syko Sam in the horrorcore genre, which sets violent lyrics to hip-hop beats.