Jury: Sanger man guilty of murder, rape

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A Sanger man will spend the rest of his life in prison after a jury found him guilty Monday of murdering his wife and sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl.

With a tilt of his head and a twist of his neck, Keith Beyer absorbed the blow of five consecutive guilty verdicts. The 37-year-old confessed to murdering his wife, Sandra Cantu, during his first court appearance. And yet it took two years for the case to go to trial.

"It was just a long two years," said Elaine Franco, who was Cantu's best friend. "But we are all happy it's finally over and now Sandra can rest."

The jury only deliberated two hours to decide Beyer was guilty of murder, strangling his sleeping wife with shoelaces from his own steel-toed boot. They also found him guilty of four sex crimes committed against an 11-year-old girl, just hours before the murder -- a crime Cantu would've discovered if she'd ever woken up.

As they left, a couple jurors made their way through the victim's family and friends to give the girl their condolences.

"This case brings out a lot of emotions in people," said prosecutor Robert Mangano. "It was just a horrific case."

We're not identifying the girl, but she's now a teenager and living with the impact of two sexual attacks by Beyer. She testified in the trial and came back for the verdict she'd waited to hear.

"[She had] no words but you could tell in her expression that she was just happy, very relieved that it's over and he got what he deserves," said Franco.

Life will never be the same for her, but the teen is making the best of it. She has a 3.8 GPA and earned the principal's merit award in the middle of the trial. Her family members, and the prosecutor, are confident she'll be OK in the long run.

"There's an inner strength to her beyond the Bell curve, beyond you or I or more people," said Mangano. "She's just a stronger girl. And I think this has made her stronger and you're right, her academics are fantastic. She's doing great and she will, I know, lead a very successful and productive life."

Sandra Cantu won't have that opportunity, but her friends and family made it clear she'll always be in their hearts.

Keith Beyer, on the other hand, will be out of mind as he heads to prison next month for the rest of his life.