He was sentenced to a work farm in Minnesota where he was hit by a falling tree and suffered a head fracture and a days-long coma.

Beardslee pleaded guilty to second degree murder, received a 19-year sentence, and served seven years before being released on parole in 1977.

[5] In a scheme devised by Frank Rutherford, a drug dealer, Beardslee's roommate, Ricarda Sue (Rickie) Soria, lured the two to their apartment.

Soria pleaded no contest to second degree murder in exchange for testimony against Rutherford and Beardslee, and was sentenced to 15 years to life.

Prosecutors noted that he was of above average intelligence although family members testified he had lifelong trouble expressing emotion and prison records indicate diagnoses of schizophrenia.

[11] Schwarzenegger denied clemency to Beardslee, stating that "we are not dealing here with a man who is so generally affected by his impairment that he cannot tell the difference between right and wrong.