A 19-year-old Roanoke man will serve 34 years in prison for his role in a February 2006 double murder.

Paul Antonio "DooDoo" Goode was 17 the night Deborah Pearl Vaughn and Brenda Marie Wright were stabbed to death in Vaughn's Northeast Roanoke apartment. Police first came to Goode after Vaughn's 5-year-old son told a neighbor, "Uncle DooDoo cut my mommy's throat off."

At first, Goode told police he knew nothing about the murders. Ultimately he admitted to being in the apartment, while one of his co-defendants claimed Goode took part in the brutal stabbings.

On Feb. 9, a year after the slayings, Goode pleaded no contest to two counts of being a principal in the second degree to murder. In exchange for the plea, prosecutors agreed not to ask for more than 34 years to serve.

Arguments at Tuesday's sentencing focused on to what degree Goode was actually involved in the killings. Goode's attorney, Neil Horn, asserted that two of Goode's three co-defendants, James "Tattoo" Morell, 35, and Jeremy Carter, 20, actually committed the murders.

"These are your killers," he said. "They had blood on their hands as well as all over their clothing."

Horn suggested that Goode should receive a punishment similar to that of Karrington Overstreet, 17, who pleaded guilty last week to two counts of attempted robbery and two counts of accessory after the fact to murder.

He received eight years in prison.

Authorities had no proof that Goode did anything other than associate himself with bad company that night, Horn argued. "We will never know exactly what happened inside that apartment," he said.

Roanoke Commonwealth's Attorney Donald Caldwell countered that Goode admitted to being part of a plot to rob Vaughn, and according to Carter's testimony in previous hearings, Goode took part in the killings. Goode had a chance to show mercy to the families of the victims, but he didn't cooperate with police after the murders, Caldwell said. "He chose to turn a cold shoulder," he said.

Wright's son and daughter testified that they were still struggling to cope with the loss of their mother.

Roanoke Circuit Judge Jonathan Apgar sentenced Goode to 80 years suspended after serving 34.

Goode's family was upset after the hearing, saying they believed Goode was no more involved in the murders than Overstreet. According to court testimony, Overstreet helped with the botched robbery but not with the stabbings.

According to court evidence, on Feb. 10, 2006, the four went to Vaughn's apartment to rob her of money she'd received in a disability settlement.

Wright, Vaughn's neighbor and friend, came over to return a CD. The two women were tortured and murdered when the robbers couldn't find the money.

Morell, the ringleader, has been sentenced to two life terms plus 16 years.

Carter, who cooperated with authorities, is scheduled to be sentenced in July.