Sondra Better was stabbed and beaten to death in a Florida armed robbery more than 20 years ago. Now the man charged with her murder has been sentenced to life, all thanks to a fingerprint background check performed after he applied for a job.
Todd Barket, 51, was sentenced in West Palm Beach after being found guilty for brutally slaying Better in a Delray Beach consignment store in August 1998, the Florida Sun-Sentinel reported.
The 68-year-old woman's family members, who have been waiting for this day for over two decades, said they were relieved to finally have closure.
"It's a blessing," said John Shores, Better's son-in-law. "It's like God has looked down and brought closure to the family."
Following the grisly murder, detectives launched an intensive investigation. They had recovered DNA and a fingerprint from the crime scene, which was believed to belong to the killer, but were unable to find a match, The Palm Beach Post noted.
The case eventually went cold but then in December, a big break came after Barket applied for a job and submitted his fingerprints for a background check.
He was charged three months later, when his fingerprints and DNA matched evidence from the crime scene. Until then, his fingerprints had not been in the system.
By way of explaining the fingerprint, Barket claimed he had been shopping in the store two weeks prior to the murder and touched a decorative marble ball.
He added that the blood droppings found on a cash register at the crime scene, which linked him to the murder, was from a cut on his hand, the Sun-Sentinel reported.
Barket said he had returned to the store the same day of the murder and, upon realizing no one was around, had reached into the cash register and stolen $100.
Assistant Public Defender Courtney Wilson insisted Barket had been framed, but Assistant State Attorney Alexcia Cox told jurors there was "no way" Barket's story made any sense or had any truth to it.
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