LaShawn Whipple
Patrick Bentley
LUDINGTON, Mich. (AP) -- A 21-year-old West Michigan man has pleaded guilty to murder charges for fatally shooting his sister and strangling her friend with a belt in the trailer they shared.
Patrick Bentley made the pleas Tuesday in Mason County Circuit Court in Ludington.
Under a plea deal with prosecutors, Bentley is to get a prison sentence of 48 to 67 years. Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 18.
Nineteen-year-old co-defendant Lashawn Whipple pleaded guilty in September to second-degree murder and other charges. She's to get 30 to 60 years in prison at her Dec. 4 sentencing.
The bodies of 18-year-old Lacey Bentley and 35-year-old Fernando Ramirez were found Jan. 27, 2012, in Victory Township, near Scottville.
The suspects were arrested later in Kentucky.