A man will spend the rest of his natural life in prison without the possibility of parole for stabbing to death two people and wounding another in an Ahwatukee Foothills apartment complex in 2004.
A Maricopa County Superior Court judge on Friday spared the life of Matthew Cunningham, 30, whom prosecutors asked be put to death. In doing so, the judge sentenced Cunningham to two life terms, plus another seven and a half years for a burglary charge.
Cunningham was convicted in February of killing his roommate, Robert Barker, and neighbor, Katherine Spain, in a wild stabbing spree. Another man, Gerardo Barrientos, was also stabbed but fought back with a baseball bat, critically injuring and almost killing Cunningham.
Cunningham survived, only to face arrest and years of court that drew to a close on Friday.
Read the Tribune’s original story of the crime: Two dead, one critical after stabbing spree (Oct. 13, 2004)
