KEOSAUQUA – A judge sentenced Shawn Bentler to five life sentences on Tuesday for the murders of his family, bringing an end to one of the most grisly murder trials in the history of the state of Iowa.

Judge Michael Mullins ordered Bentler to serve four of the sentences concurrently. A fifth, for the murder of Bentler’s mother, Sandra, will be served consecutively because of its brutality, Mullins said.

“You showed no mercy to her as she begged you,” Mullins said. “It seems somewhat empty to say that it’s impossible to measure one killing against any of the other, but the measure is because of the direct evidence that I have before me . and I find in particular that the killing of your mother was absolutely merciless.”

The sentence came after a morning filled with emotional statements from Bentler’s family. Sitting quietly, Bentler showed little emotion, blinking slowly and occasionally looking down at his hands.

Holding a picture of one of his own young daughters, Gregg Bentler, Shawn’s uncle, talked about how she wanted to see her cousins over Thanksgiving.

Many of the relatives who spoke called on Shawn Bentler to take responsibility for his actions.

Others spoke about how they struggled to fathom the nature of Shawn Bentler’s crime and his mindset as he made the 1-hour, 20-minute drive from his home in Quincy, Ill., to his family’s rural Bonaparte home to commit the murders.

Bentler, 23, was convicted in the Oct. 14 shooting deaths of his parents and his teenage sisters, Sheena, Shelby and Shayne at the family’s home near Bonaparte.

During trial, prosecutors said Bentler coldly and systematically carried out the slayings to gain control of his parent’s $2.8 million estate. The focus of the prosecution’s case was a 911 call placed by 14-year-old Shayne Bentler.

The call begins with Sandra Bentler shouting in the background, then Shayne saying her older brother was “going to do something,” followed by the sound of a gunshot and a scream “Shawn, no!” before the line goes dead.