Teen who killed Stone County couple sentenced to prison

About a month after Anthony Zarro pleaded guilty to killing Paul and Margaret Brooks, a judge sentenced him to life in prison.

Zarro, now 19, was 16 when he and Christopher Allen burglarized the couple's home near Lampe and then beat and stabbed the couple in 2013, police say. Paul and Margaret Brooks were 70 and 69, respectively.

Judge J. Edward Sweeney sentenced Zarro to 15 years on the first count of murder, and a consecutive sentence of life on the second count. A life sentence in Missouri is 30 years.

According to Stone County Prosecuting Attorney Matt Selby, Zarro won't be eligible for parole for at least 39 years.

Two days before the killings, Zarro and Allen ran away from the Lives Under Construction Boy's Ranch, a ranch in Lampe for troubled boys and young men.

Allen is still facing charges stemming from the killings, and a jury trial is scheduled to begin in April.