Mitzi Sanders, Ben Merscher's mother, told Engre Brown in Clallam County Superior Court she never will be the same after her son's death.

"I want to tell you what a wonderful boy Ben was," Sanders said.

"He called me from college just to hear my voice. He had so many plans and so many dreams. He just wanted to make me happy. He shouldn't be taken from us.

"I hope you learned something from this. I hope you do not do this to anyone else. Our family is destroyed."

Ben's father Geoff Merscher said, "I hope for the rest of your life you think about what you've done. What you've done is horrible.

"I hope you think about it for the rest of your life. You didn't just destroy one life, you've destroyed hundreds."

Merscher was a 2001

Sequim High School graduate who would have turned

26 on Dec. 1, 2008. He earned his associate degree from

Peninsula College in 2003, then spent another year

studying applied arts and computer information technology.

He graduated with honors from the University of Oregon in 2007 with degrees in business administration and sports marketing.

He then he traveled to Denmark on an international study program. When he returned, he took a job at Sequim Costco Wholesale.