During the trial, Wisetsingh changed his plea to
not guilty, and denied the murders, blaming them on a mysterious Mr. Ya, a
drug informant who he claimed shot the couple while trying to protect his handler. Wisetsingh indicated he was coerced into previous confessions. He was convicted of both murders and was sentenced to serve two
life sentences of 50 years, only escaping the
death sentence because of his record as a decorated police officer (he had been Outstanding Policeman of the Year for his district on several occasions) and his initial confession to police. The judge then changed his ruling to one life sentence and one sentence of 33 years and four months. == Future ==