PHOENIX — A man was sentenced to 20 years in prison for the 2004 murder of a 15-year-old girl in Phoenix.

Sergio Reyes was sentenced Friday for the murder of Elena Lasswell, the Maricopa County Attorney's Office said.

In July 2004, witnesses said they saw Lasswell go into her bedroom with a boy and close the door. Laswell's brother and friends found her body in her bedroom the next night.

Lasswell died from strangulation and blunt force trauma.

In 2013, familial DNA was used to link Reyes to the murder and 20 years to the day after she was found, he was extradited from Mexico to Maricopa County.

Reyes, who was 17 at the time of the crime, pleaded guilty to Second Degree Murder.

Watch 12News for free

12+ showcases live video throughout the day for breaking news, local news, weather

See Full Page