Andrew Denning is a killer from Montana who would murder a pair of sisters over a drug debt
According to court documents Andrew Denning would go to a residence where he would confront a pair of sisters: 22-year-old Rose Edwards and 21-year-old Daisy Edwards, over a drug debt and when the sisters refused to pay they were stabbed to death
Andrew Denning would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to one hundred years in prison
Andrew Denning Now
DOC ID# 3014737
NAME: Andrew Scott Denning
CURRENT STATUS: Secure
LAST STATUS CHANGE: Tuesday, December 30, 2014
GENDER: Male
INFORMATION CURRENT AS OF: Sunday, November 12, 2023
Secure:
Crossroads Correctional Center
Andrew Denning Case
A 22-year-old man pleaded no contest Tuesday to deliberate homicide charges after prosecutors said he stabbed two sisters to death in a Billings apartment in 2012.
Andrew Denning entered his plea after telling authorities that he did not know why he killed Rose and Daisy Edwards, court documents state.
As part of the plea agreement, a weapons charge that could have increased the penalty was withdrawn.
The state is recommending a sentence of 100 years in prison. A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled.
An autopsy concluded that Rose Edwards likely died of a stab wound to the neck. She had also been choked. Daisy Edwards suffered a stab wound to the heart, and she had stab wounds all over her body.
Police found the sisters dead on Jan. 29, 2012, and quickly arrested Denning
“‘Book me now … honestly book me now … that’s all I can say,'” police said he told them after his arrest, according to court documents.
When a detective asked why he killed the sisters, Denning replied, “‘I don’t have an honest answer … why I hurt either one of those girls,'” the documents state.
Denning said he took a drug to treat brain disorders before he got to the apartment of the sisters. In court documents, he said he doesn’t remember what happened, but based on his observations, he concluded he was responsible for the killings and took steps to conceal the crime.
Police say he killed the women when they refused to pay him for prescription drugs.
The case was set to go to trial on June 9. Defense attorneys had filed a notice to argue that Denning was “unable to appreciate the criminality” of his actions because of mental health problems. The lawyers couldn’t be reached for further comment.
Two mental health professionals were listed as witnesses for the defense.
In January, prosecutors had Denning taken to Missoula for a mental health evaluation. The results have not been made public.
Andrew Denning News
The man who killed the Edwards sisters in January 2012 was sentenced to 100 years in prison Tuesday.
“At no point until today have you taken any responsibility for what you’ve done,†says Judge Mary Jane Knisely. “The aggravating factors in this case are the violence that you inflicted was systematic. It was ritualistic.”
She sentenced 23-year-old Andrew Scott Denning to 100 years in prison for the double homicide.
Daisy, 21, and Rose, 22, were found dead in their apartment, covered in blankets after a deal for sleeping pills went wrong.
“I’m just grateful that the case is done and that the Edwards family can close this chapter in their lives and perhaps get some semblance of closure,” says Scott Twito, Yellowstone County attorney
Det. Keith Buxbaum told the court how the two sisters were stabbed, slashed, and strangled. One of the sisters was stabbed more than 100 times all over her body. Family members testified, including the victims’ mother, who says Denning had a â lust to kill that night. “It’s a nightmare you wake up to everyday for the rest of your life because of something you decided to do,†Marie Edwards, the victims’ mother, said, addressing Denning.
The argument from the defense was to suspend 20 years because of Denning’s age at the time, his history of mental illness, and his lack of a criminal history. Denning apologized to the Edwards family, calling Daisy and Rose two bright lights in his life. “I’m not worthy of your forgiveness or your understanding, but I take solace in the fact that before this is over I will share your pain,†he said.
Judge Knisely also ordered Andrew Denning to pay $10,688.50 in restitution.
Denning will become parole eligible in his 40s. But county attorney Twito says the testimony today will stay on Denning’s record and it will be carefully scrutinized by a review board