A Nebraska man convicted of killing a former western Iowa woman and her husband was sentenced Wednesday to two life terms in prison. The Daily NonPareil reports 34-year old Matthew Hinrichsen, of Ewing, NE, will serve two life sentences for murdering newlyweds Victoria Lee Vargas and her husband Alex, in December 2012. Victoria Vargas was a former Missouri Valley city councilwoman. Their murders took place in northeast Nebraska’s Antelope County.
Hinrichsen – who was convicted in Antelope County District Court in October 2013 – received a life sentence for each of two counts of first-degree murder, 25 to 30 years for one count of possessing a firearm while committing a felony and 40 to 50 years for one count of using a firearm to commit a felony. His sentences will be served consecutively.
The bodies of the couple he killed were discovered in a burned-out mobile home on Dec. 8th, 2012. The Nebraska Attorney General said autopsies showed Alex Vargas was shot three times in his midsection, while his wife suffered traumatic blunt force trauma to the head before their home was torched.
Hinrichsen, an ex-boyfriend of Victoria’s, was arrested the same day at a family member’s home.