Simlick caught hours after deaths

Deputies arrested Joseph Hayden Simlick at his home on Rancho Verde Lane in Loomis within hours of the brutal killings following an intense, whirlwind investigation.

"I know our guys worked 28 straight hours when it first happened," Capt. Lewis McElfresh said. "There was constant coordination with the District Attorney's Office and we had him charged with murder within 72 hours."

READ: Simlick pleads guilty in 2010 double homicide

READ: Simlick relationship ended 4 days before killings.

McElfresh stopped short of calling the ruling "justice."

"I don't know if it's justice, but I think it's a good resolution," McElfresh said. "I think it's some relief to the family. I think it's a very good deal. It would've been a horrific trial."