ASHEVILLE, N.C. — A former employee at a well-known North Carolina mountain inn was sentenced to life in prison Thursday for killing a co-worker who was an aspiring chef.
Derek Shawn Pendergraft, 22, entered a plea in August 2019 in federal court to first-degree murder and aggravated sexual abuse resulting in death.
[Autopsy: North Carolina inn worker died of strangulation]
Pendergraft admitted to killing Sara Ellis, his co-worker at the Pisgah Inn along the Blue Ridge Parkway, in July 2018. An autopsy found that Ellis died of strangulation.
“When a life is cut short at the hands of another individual, no prison sentence is ever long enough to make things right for the victim’s loved ones,” said U.S. Attorney Andrew Murray. “Today’s sentence will not bring back Sara to her family and friends who miss her and think about her every day, but it is my sincere hope that everyone impacted by this heinous crime can find solace in knowing that Sara’s killer will never walk free among us again.”
Officials said all of Pendergraft’s federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole.
Pendergraft initially told authorities the two went for a hike and he lost track of Ellis after she turned back in the rain. Authorities found her body off an embankment near the parkway.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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