WEST SUNBURY —- Debby Dietrich stopped at exactly 10:30 a.m. Thursday alone in her home here and said a prayer for her daughter Rachel.

At that same time in a courtroom in Charlotte, N.C., the man who beat 20-year-old Rachel to death in 1995, was read a letter Debby had prepared for him this past Saturday.

Jeffrey Barton of Gastonia, N.C., appeared in court Thursday to plead guilty to second-degree murder. He was sentenced to serve 12 to 14 years in prison, according to published reports.

For Debby, justice was long in coming for her daughter, whose battered body was found in a churchyard Oct. 14, 1995, only 27 days after Rachel had moved there from West Sunbury.

Barton, the owner of a cleaning company, as well as a husband and father, had employed Dietrich for two days before she got a job with a security company.

Investigators, according to published reports, believe Barton wanted to date Dietrich.

Dietrich disappeared after beginning a shift at work, and her body was found the next morning by a churchgoer.

Debby said her daughter was beaten so badly that no one would allow her to see the body when she was returned home for burial.

"She weighed 97 pounds. She was no match for him," Debby said. "He showed no mercy."

Barton, according to published reports, weighed 230 pounds.

Investigators immediately suspected Rachel was killed by someone who knew her. But the case went unsolved until technology improved and officials in 2005 said DNA evidence linked the crime to Barton and he was arrested.

"It was under her fingernails," Debby said. "She must have scratched him."

Then, a couple weeks ago, court officials in Charlotte called Debby and asked her how she felt about a possible plea bargain.

Debby said she'd rather see Barton face a lengthier sentence. The defendant will receive credit for the four years he already spent in prison.

But Debby said she did not want to risk the chance of an acquittal if the case went to trial. Court officials told her there was a 50 percent chance of that happening.

Debby was given enough notice to travel there to witness the plea and sentencing. But, she said, circumstances just made it better that she stay here.

And pray.

Debby sent the judge a letter. And she wrote this letter to be read to Barton in the courtroom:

"Mr. Barton,

"For as long as I live I will never understand why you had to murder my beautiful daughter, Rachel. She was such a beautiful, outgoing, kind, and generous girl.

"There is nothing in this world that you can ever say that would warrant what you have done to her.

"I pray God will never let you forget her beaten body and her crying out. I can only thank God they found her.

"There is no punishment here on Earth that will ever compare to the punishment you will receive when you draw your last breath here on Earth.

"You not only took Rachel's life away, but our whole family's life as well.

May our God have mercy on your soul."

Court officials told her the defendant made no comment.

Later, Debby said she and her daughter, Rachel's sister Tracy, 38, and friends will go to West Sunbury Cemetery and visit Rachel's grave as well as the grave of Rachel's father, Blair, who died April 16.

She said she will speak to Rachel and explain the circumstances.

"Today will finally bring an end, and she can rest," Debby said.