Elmore County killer receives three life sentences for murders

Elmore County killer receives three life sentences for murders

BOISE, Idaho - A man found guilty of murdering his girlfriend and her two sons more than a decade ago will spend the rest of his life behind bars.

On Monday, a judge sentenced Jorge Alberto Lopez-Orozco to three consecutive life sentences in Elmore County.

Prosecutors said Lopez-Orozco shot and killed Rebecca Ramirez and her boys in August 2002 because Ramirez planned to leave him. Two fisherman later found the burned remains of Lopez-Orozco's car and the bodies in Elmore County.

Lopez-Orozco's attorney Terry Ratliff told jurors that Lopez-Orozco was driving with Ramirez and the boys when someone shot at them. He said Lopez-Orozco ran away from the car hoping to lead the shooter away, and that he fled to Mexico because he was here illegally. Lopez-Orozco was arrested in Mexico in 2009.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.