A Northern California man received a sentence of nearly 141 years to life in prison on Thursday for fatally shooting a young girl’s parents in front of her.
Russell Martin Albers, 45, faced Humboldt County Superior Court nearly four years following the horrific double homicide in Eureka.
Emotions ran high in the courtroom as family members delivered poignant victim impact statements before the judge handed Albers a sentence that likely ensures he will spend the rest of his life in prison.
“I would like Mr. Albers to know he took a part of our family away. I hope and I pray that Mr. Albers dies in prison,” a family member of the victim stated in court according to Kym Kemp.
Judge Kelly Neel emphasized that Albers deserved the full extent of his sentence.
“There were so many chances for you to turn around and not do what you did,” Neel remarked, criticizing him for committing the murders “in front of a baby” and stating that he “earned every day” of his sentence.
The victims’ family expressed how the tragedy had affected multiple generations.
“He took my sister. He did this and made my niece watch. He robbed my niece of having her parents,” said the killer’s former girlfriend and sister of the victim.
The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office responded to a 911 call reporting gunshots and a child screaming at a Eureka home on December 27, 2022.
Upon arrival, deputies found three gunshot victims, two of whom died from their injuries. A four-year-old girl was also present at the scene.
The killer’s former girlfriend was at the home of Jennifer Paddock and her partner, Danny Garcia, in Eureka before the incident occurred.
Albers forced his way into the home and fatally shot Paddock and Garcia in front of their four-year-old daughter.
He also shot a family friend and his former girlfriend, but dropped her off at a hospital before fleeing.
Albers was ultimately apprehended the next day in McKinleyville—approximately 20 minutes from Eureka—after a high-speed police chase.
Prior to sentencing, the killer accepted a plea deal, pleading guilty to two counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder.
