Kenneth Lynch to serve life in prison | News

The man who killed his girlfriend and her granddaughter will spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole despite the fact that the victims' bodies were never found.

Kenneth Lynch was found guilty of two counts of murder and one count of grand larceny last week after a two week trial.

Lynch waived his right to a jury trial, so it was up to the judge to decide his innocence or guilt.

Portia Washington and 7-year-old Angelica Livingston, both of West Columbia, disappeared in 2006. Their bodies were never found.

Lynch was named a suspect in the case and later arrested while trying to cross into Canada. He was taken into custody at the border in June of 2006 on grand larceny charges.

Those charges were upgraded in 2008 to two counts of murder by the West Columbia Police Department.

In closing arguments, the solicitor's office brought up blood stains, believed to be that of Livingston's, found underneath a chair in Washington's bedroom. But the defense said there was reasonable doubt, stating Lynch and Washington were happy together.

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