Yokuts Valley serial killer sentenced to life for three 'nightmare' murders

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A convicted killer learned his sentence on Friday while coming face-to-face with one of his victims' daughters.

"You truly are an evil man," Jessica Brumley, the daughter of Donnie Lee, said.

Buford King pleaded guilty to three Yokuts Valley murders between 2011 and 2016. Investigators say he killed Donnie Lee, Aleksey Shelset, and Alberto Contreras.

King used one of the bodies for target practice and buried the victims in holes in what prosecutors described as a "nightmare."

"I have never heard of anything like this," Fresno County Superior Court Judge Alvin Harrell III said.

Judge Harrell sentenced King to 50 years to life in prison, plus life without the possibility of parole.

"That pain and trauma will never fully go away," Brumley said.

King's defense attorneys pointed to what they called "huge PTSD" from serving two tours in Iraq.

"I think he is truly remorseful, and I think he had (long enough) to think about what he has done," attorney Curtis Sok said.

Sok then issued a written statement claiming, without evidence, that two of King's victims were actively abusing young boys when he shot them. Sok and co-counsel Michael McKneely claim King is a "vigilante" who "intervened" and now accepts his sentence.

"Those allegations were never adjudicated in court and in several instances could not be independently verified by investigators," the Fresno County District Attorney's Office wrote in a statement.

"I do hope that knowing that this individual will not ever be among our community again will give them some form of closure," prosecutor Liz Owen said in court.

King gave up his right to appeal as part of his plea agreement with prosecutors.

For news updates, follow Gabe Ferris on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.