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The East Toledo man convicted of strangling a couple to death in Springfield Township early last year will serve a double life sentence behind bars.

Samuel Williams avoided the death penalty, but was sentenced Friday to serve two life sentences in prison without the possibility of being paroled.

In late July, a jury concluded that Willliams murdered Lisa Straub, 20, and her boyfriend, Johnny Clarke, 21. The couple was found dead inside Straub's parents' Longacre Lane in Springfield Twp. home in January 2011.

Straub and Clark were asphyxiated and had plastic bags on their heads when they were found. Authorities have said they were killed in a robbery gone wrong.

At the sentencing hearing Friday, Judge Dean Mandros spoke directly to Williams when explaining the sentence he was handing down. "No one should leave this earth in the cruel and unusual manner that Lisa Straub and Johnny Clarke met their ends," said Mandros. "No one in this community should ever have to worry about you ever walking the streets again; wondering what you may be capable of doing in the future."

A second defendant in the case was acquitted on all charges. A judge ruled last month that prosecutors did not have enough evidence against Cameo Pettaway, 24. Prosecutors alleged that the only evidence linking Pettaway to the crime was a cigarette butt, with the defendant's DNA, found outside the home. The judge took only 10 minutes to dismiss all charges citing lack of evidence.

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