Va. man gets 12.5 years for killing pregnant girlfriend in 2011, putting body in trash compactor
02/22/2023 4:23 pm PST
LOUDOUN COUNTY, Va. (TCD) -- A man was sentenced this week to 40 years in prison with over half of the term suspended for abducting and killing his pregnant girlfriend in 2011.
Loudoun County Circuit Court records show Ronald Roldan will serve 12.5 years behind bars after pleading guilty to second-degree murder for the death of 21-year-old Bethany Decker. He must also serve five years of supervised release.
According to the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office, Decker was last seen alive Jan. 29, 2011, at the apartment where she lived with Roldan. Her family reported her missing Feb. 19, 2011, and said she was five months pregnant with her second child. Investigators found her car behind the parking lot of her Ashburn, Virginia, apartment complex.
Roldan was charged in connection with Decker’s disappearance and death in November 2020.
In January, Roldan reportedly met with investigators and prosecutors and revealed what happened the night Decker died. Loudoun Now reports the interview and full story were part of Roldan’s plea deal.
On Jan. 29, 2011, Roldan and Decker reportedly got into an argument because she wanted to go back to work for an extra shift. Roldan supposedly pushed Decker, causing her to hit her head on a windowsill. When he saw she wasn’t breathing, he wrapped her in a bag used for Christmas tree disposal, then put her body down the trash compactor.
Roldan reportedly sent text and Facebook messages from Decker’s devices to make it look like she was still alive.
WUSA-TV reports Decker’s mother, Kimberly Nelson, said after the sentencing, "It was quite tragic for us to go from missing to murdered in just a sentence, in a day."
Decker’s remains are still missing.
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