Doug Ritzert said he felt some justice Thursday as one of the three people accused of murdering his son was sent to prison for life.

"Ifeel a little closure. Not that much,"Doug Ritzert said. "It will never end."

Ritzert's son, 30-year-old Jason Ritzert, was tortured and burned for months leading to his November 2005 death.

Prosecutors initially sought the death penalty for Timothy Caldwell, 30, and his co-defendants Melissa Adams, 25, and her former boyfriend, Russell Hilliard, 36.

Prosecution still is moving forward for Adams and Hilliard.

But Caldwell avoided the possibility of his own death by entering a plea arrangement with the Butler County District Attorney Randa Clark.

In exchange for Caldwell's plea to first-degree murder, abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence, the DA's office recommended life in prison, plus 21 to 42 months.

Butler County Judge William Shaffer imposed that sentence Thursday.

Clark has said Ritzert's family played a role in her decision to make the plea offer.

"They are devastated,"Clark said. "There's nothing Ican do. There is nothing the criminal justice system can do to ever replace that person in their lives.Justice is, in many ways, inadequate to address their loss."

Jason Ritzert's family had an opportunity to speak at Caldwell's sentence hearing, but declined.

Most of the family also declined to comment afterward, as family members and court staff ushered Jason Ritzert's visibly shaken mother, Bonnie Ritzert, past media to a waiting elevator.

"I shouldn't have to put my family through this,"Doug Ritzert said.

Caldwell also was given the opportunity to speak during the hearing and declined.

Investigators believe Caldwell was the first to abuse Ritzert, who was mentally handicapped.

Ritzert lived in a city apartment with Caldwell and Adams, who is Caldwell's cousin.

Sometime during the summer of 2005, the roommates began to suspect Ritzert, known as "Jay Bird" to his friends, was stealing food items and small amounts of money.

Caldwell "punished" Ritzert for the thefts. And over several months, he allegedly continued to discover thefts and inflict punishment.

According to court records, he punched and kicked Ritzert, hit him with a plastic bat, threw him against the wall, broke a pool cue stick across his hands and knocked out a tooth. Then, prosecutors believe Caldwell, Adams and Hilliard jointly agreed to burn Ritzert.

According to court documents, Hilliard allegedly restrained Ritzert while Caldwell poured lighter fluid onto his hands and Adams lit the fluid.

After the threesome tried this three times, the ante was reportedly again upped in November.

Ritzert, who was forced to wear a T-shirt soaked in lighter fluid, was lit on fire while restrained in a bathtub, according to court documents.

For a week afterward, Ritzert, badly burned on his upper body and head, stayed in a bedroom without medical attention.

Unable to even walk to the bathroom, Ritzert was given a litter box to use, according to court documents.

On Nov. 10, Ritzert became unresponsive. Caldwell, in response, kicked Ritzert, then held his foot on Ritzert's chest and neck, standing with all his weight on the body, police said.

Adams and Hilliard, who were at a bar at the time, were told of Ritzert's death when they returned, according to court documents.

The threesome allegedly threw Ritzert's body in a stolen meat truck and took it to a warehouse in Summit Township. They dumped the body in a trash bin and burned it further.

Investigators could not identify Ritzert until his parents reported him missing, and X-rays and dental records confirmed their fears.

Yet even as investigators were searching for Ritzert's identity, Caldwell and Adams allegedly were forging and cashing the dead man's Social Security disability benefits checks.

Caldwell's defense attorney, David DeFazio, said the plea bargain was made in the best interest of Ritzert's family, who will not have to hear evidence at Caldwell's trial, as well as what was best for his client.

"This was a horrible case,"DeFazio said. "Ifeel a lot of sympathy for the victim's family, as well as my client's family."

DeFazio said his client had mental health issues and an abusive childhood.

"He never had a chance,"DeFazio said.

At least a half-dozen friends and family sat behind Caldwell during the sentencing hearing. They made no statements in court or afterward.

Court documents indicate Caldwell's criminal history dates back to at least age 15 and includes sex-related offenses.

Additionally, court records indicate Caldwell was a resident of Torrance State Hospital for mental health patients.

While in the hospital in 2001, Caldwell was arrested for making a bomb threat.

He pleaded guilty in Westmoreland County Court to charges of terroristic threats and making false alarms to an agency of public safety, according to court records.

He served a brief sentence at Westmoreland County Jail and was returned to Torrance.

In February 2002, Caldwell and another patient escaped from the hospital. Both were captured three days later.

He was back at Torrance, but within a month, he used a pay telephone at the hospital to call in another bomb threat, court documents said.

Caldwell made the March 2002 threat "because he simply does not like to be at the hospital and wants out of Torrance," a criminal complaint said.

He got his wish a short time after pleading guilty to charges in the second bomb threat and again spending several months in prison.

But he was arrested in April 2003 for a parole violation. He was again in Westmoreland County Jail and released in October 2004. Within days he would first meet Ritzert after moving back to his native Butler.

They moved together in January to the West Quarry Street duplex.