A California man who epitomized "pure evil" will spend the rest of his life behind bars for the slaying of his teenage female classmate.
Owen Skyler Shover, 23, of Hesperia, California, learned his fate Friday following convictions of first-degree murder and a special circumstance of lying in wait in August, according to KCAL-TV.
Shover was motivated to kill 16-year-old high school student Aranda Briones in January 2019 after she got him expelled from Moreno Valley High School for an incident 14 months prior, prosecutors said.
The pair were ditching school at a park with a group of friends. When deputies spotted them, Shover tossed Briones a handgun, prompting her to dump it in a canal. A deputy saw Briones' attempt to get rid of the weapon, at which point she confessed belonged to Shover.
In February 2018, the school board voted to expel the classmates.
More than a year had passed when Shover enlisted the help of his brother, Gary Anthony Shover, 28, to kill Briones and dispose of her body somewhere in the San Bernardino Mountains, said prosecutors.
Her remains have never been found.
"There are many questions left unanswered, none more than where is Aranda?" Judge Timothy J. Hollenhorst told Shover during his sentencing hearing, according to The Press-Enterprise.
"Mr. Shover, from what I can tell about you, it appears that you are not capable of feeling remorse, so I do not intend to lecture you on how devastating your actions were in this case. However, there is no question in this court's mind that you are the face of pure evil," said Hollenhorst.
DNA evidence, cell phone data, surveillance footage, and disturbing text messages between the brothers tied them to the murder.
"Be ready for tonight. Get shovels and lighter fluid ready," Shover texted Gary the day they killed Briones. Shover lured Briones into his vehicle under the guise of making drug deliveries and robbing drug dealers together, said prosecutors.
As part of a plea agreement, Gary pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact in March and was sentenced to a year in jail.
"He's a stone-cold killer," Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin said of Shover, according to KESQ-TV. "On the day of his conviction, he spoke to his grandfather from jail, wondering whether he should 'get a trophy' for being a convicted murderer. He has shown no remorse."
