Michael E. Keyser was sentenced to life in prison

Michael E. Keyser was sentenced to life in prison for his role in the September 2003 suffocation of 16-year-old Kimberly Holton.
Keyser, 24, showed little emotion after receiving his sentence in Kent County Superior Court, a decree that went against a jury's 10-2 recommendation for death in November.
Keyser was convicted of 1st-degree murder Nov. 16. A week later the same jury recommended he be put to death. New Castle County Superior Court Judge William C. Carpenter Jr. called the murder "a senseless killing," but noted that Keyser's "immaturity and unquestionable loyalty to a friend (led) him to do an unthinkable act inconsistent with and out of character of his previous conduct."
Prosecutors said Keyser and Jacob L. Jones, 20, strangled Kimberly Holton in the evening of Sept. 29, 2003.
Although he admitted assisting in the killing, Keyser told police he tried to stop Mr. Jones and then helped because he was afraid Mr. Jones would kill him or his girlfriend if he refused.
Mr. Jones was not charged. He committed suicide with a 12-gauge shotgun Oct. 23, 2003, after a police interview. By Delaware law, the judge must give the jury's recommendation "great weight" in determining the sentence, which the judge said he did.