Murderer of USC Chinese students sentenced to life in prison

LOS ANGELES - One of the two suspected murderers of USC (University of Southern California) Chinese students Ying Wu and Ming Qu was sentenced on Wednesday morning to life in prison by the Superior Court of California for Los Angeles County.

Bryan Barnes pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder and special circumstance allegations that could have resulted in the death penalty. However, the judge in the case sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Wu's parents and Qu's father called for death penalty to the two murderers in a statement.

The case's co-defendant Javier Bolden is awaiting a pretrial hearing in the coming months.

Tracking the victims cellphones led to the arrests of Barnes and Bolden, both aged 21.

Wu and Qu, both 23 years old, were graduate students majoring in electrical engineering. They were shot to death around midnight on April 11, 2012, near Wu's rented apartment near the campus.