Man Sentenced to Life for Murder of Gay Teen

Dante Parrish was sentenced to life in prison Tuesday after being convicted of the murder of gay 15-year-old Jason Mattison.

In 2009, Mattison was found dead in a house in the eastern section of Baltimore. His body was in a closet, and he had a pillowcase shoved in his mouth. His throat was cut, and he had been sexually assaulted, according to local TV station WBAL.

Parrish's sentence was influenced by an earlier conviction of the murder of a man in east Baltimore in 1999. Parrish was sentenced to 30 years for that crime but was released after 10 when a judge overturned the conviction. WBAL reports that when the judge who handed down Parrish's sentence Tuesday said, "You are not a ghoul or a thing that goes bump in the night. But you are every bit as frightening because you are real."