A 28-year-old man from Wisconsin has been sentenced to life in prison for the murders of his parents, whom he shot and killed inside their home over two years ago.

Winnebago County Circuit Judge Michael Gibbs sentenced Erik Tyrrell Metzig to two consecutive life terms for the 2023 murders of David and Jan Metzig. The judge imposed the maximum penalty after Metzig entered a no-contest plea to two charges of first-degree murder last year. Metzig later sought to retract his plea, alleging he was a victim of sexual abuse, but Judge Gibbs denied this request, as indicated by court records.

During the sentencing, two of Metzig’s siblings delivered powerful victim impact statements in court.

“If Erik is willing to murder our own parents in an attempt to tarnish our father’s reputation, the very people who cared for and loved him the most, he is capable of harming anyone,” one of his brothers stated, as captured in footage shared by Green Bay Fox affiliate WLUK.

Another brother directly appealed to the court, requesting that Metzig remain incarcerated for the rest of his life.

“Erik did the unthinkable and killed the two of them. The police believe they were naked and shot while in their bedroom,” the other brother said. “Unfortunately for Erik, this will define who he is and how he will be remembered. Out of justice for my parents, I ask the court for a sentence of life without parole.”

The judge also castigated Metzig for seeking to cast blame on his victims or other factors rather than taking personal responsibility for his actions, Green Bay NBC affiliate WGBA reported.

“There’s some victim blaming, some medication blaming, but very little remorse is being shown,” Gibbs said. “All things being considered, Mr. Metzig, you are hereby sentenced to life in the Wisconsin prison system, and both sentences will be consecutive with each other.”

According to a probable cause affidavit obtained by Law&Crime, deputies with the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office in March 2023 responded to a residence in the 8000 block of Metzig Road to perform a welfare check after receiving an early morning 911 call during which the caller hung up. Unable to get a response from the homeowners, deputies contacted one of their sons, referred to in court documents as “W1,” who escorted authorities into the residence.

“Upon walking through the home W1 found his parents in their bedroom, covered in blankets, with bags over their heads, and deceased from apparent gunshot wounds,” the affidavit states. “A significant amount of blood was found in the immediate vicinity of the bodies of [the victims]. W1 told Deputies Erik Metzig had been living with his parents and should be home, however, his car was missing from the property. W1 said Erik’s car is usually parked in the third stall within the garage but the overhead door was open and the vehicle was gone.”

Inside the home, deputies found a loaded “AR platform rifle,” a weapon Metzig’s brother said Metzig had “recently shown interest in.” The brother then told authorities he believed Erik Metzig killed their parents.

Authorities located Metzig at a YMCA about 26 miles away from the location of the murders. He was wearing “shooting glasses,” which authorities said were the type of glasses “regularly worn at gun ranges.”

In addition to the physical evidence linking Metzig to the murders, authorities said they also discovered incriminating writings from Metzig.

“A journal was found in Erik Metzig’s bedroom detailing that he wanted to eliminate his parents and make it look like they went missing while out for a walk,” the affidavit said.