Man sentenced for killing two sisters

BILLINGS  — A 23-year-old Billings man who pleaded no contest to stabbing two sisters to death in January 2012 has been sentenced to 100 years in prison.

District Judge Mary Jane McCalla Knisely sentenced Andrew Scott Denning on Tuesday, calling the violence in the deaths of Rose and Daisy Edwards “ritualistic” and “systematic.”

Denning apologized, saying he wasn’t worthy of forgiveness or understanding from the Edwards family.

Denning pleaded no contest on May 6 to two counts of deliberate homicide.

An autopsy found 22-year-old Rose Edwards died from a stab wound to her neck. She also had been choked. Daisy Edwards, who was 21, had numerous stab wounds, including one to her heart.

Denning has been jailed with bail set at $1 million since his Jan. 30, 2012 arrest.