Malvern killer gets up to 50 years in prison
A Malvern man has been sentenced to 20 to 40 years after pleading guilty to killing a former friend and hiding his body in a sleeping bag last fall.
Merritt Dudas, 24, pleaded guilty Friday in Chester County Court to third-degree murder in the November death of 21-year-old Drew Ferguson.
Asked by a judge repeatedly why he committed the murder, Dudas only repeated over and over that he wished that day had never happened.
Authorities found the victim’s body in a sleeping bag on the second floor of his garage in Malvern. They said they recovered the gun, the victim’s car and other belongings at a Collegeville home where Dudas was staying.
Dudas was also sentenced to up to three years for violating probation in a previous burglary case.
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