A judge ordered a Camdenton man to serve life in prison without parole after being found guilty of killing his next-door neighbors in 2016.
According to online court records, Judge Kenneth Hayden found Steven Endsley, 59, guilty of two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of armed criminal action and one count of second-degree arson during a bench trial in March. His sentencing took place Monday.
Back in January, Endsley waived his right to a jury trial.
A mistrial was declared in June 2021 as the trial for Endsley was set to begin. Hayden declared the mistrial after jury selection had been conducted.
Endsley was arrested Sept. 3, 2016, in the double homicide of Danielle M. Smith, 27, and her mother, Teresa A. Jackson, 61, after a weeklong investigation of two bodies found in the debris of a mobile home fire in Camden County.
Endsley was their next-door neighbor and, witnesses said, had been in an ongoing disagreement with Smith about her sexual orientation. Authorities considered the deaths to be a hate crime.