SCOTTSVILLE – Edward Dilon Siddens will spend the rest of his life in prison after a hearing in which a detective described how Siddens laid in wait for his grandparents and uncle to arrive at their home before gunning them down.

Siddens, 31, was sentenced Tuesday in Allen Circuit Court on three counts of murder and one count each of theft by unlawful taking, possession of a handgun by a convicted felon, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and violation of a Kentucky EPO/DVO.

Jimmy Neal Siddens, 73; his wife, Helen Siddens, 72; and their son, Jimmy Neal Siddens II, 41, were shot and killed Feb. 18, 2018, and their bodies were found the next day outside their home on Ray Pardue Road.

Edward Siddens, who had been adopted by his grandparents and lived in another building on their property, was arrested the following day in Colorado after being found there by law enforcement driving a pickup truck belonging to his grandfather.

He pleaded guilty to all counts in July, reaching an agreement with Allen County Commonwealth’s Attorney Corey Morgan that spared him from the death penalty.

Kentucky State Police Sgt. Adam Morgan, who led the investigation into the triple homicide, testified that Siddens told him during a police interview that he had decided to kill the three victims the day before doing so.

Edward Siddens confessed to shooting each of his relatives. Morgan said Siddens killed his uncle first from inside their home before shooting his grandmother in the walkway outside the home and slaying his grandfather in his vehicle and taking some money from him.

Autopsies showed Jimmy Siddens II had been shot with 24 rounds, Helen Siddens was shot with 17 rounds and Jimmy Neal Siddens was shot with 10 rounds.

Morgan said Edward Siddens used a total of four firearms, all belonging to Jimmy Neal Siddens, to kill his relatives and arranged through text messages for his uncle to meet him at the house first on the day of the killings, giving Jimmy Siddens II less chance to get away during the onslaught.

“When I asked (Edward Siddens) why he killed them, he stated it was because they had been tormenting him, pushing his buttons and holding what they did for him over his head by not giving him any chance to get out from under them,” Morgan testified. “He stated he had snapped.”

In court Tuesday, Edward Siddens read from a written statement in which he apologized for his actions and said “hate and self-loathing” guided his decision-making.

“Today is the first time you have had the opportunity to express the pain and resentment that has undoubtedly been building up in you for the last 21/2 years,” Edward Siddens said, addressing relatives in court. “I hope, now that you have expressed it, you will come to realize I’m just a messed-up human being, not the monster from the depths of hell you have painted me to be.”

Jimmy Neal Siddens was a beef cattle farmer and truck driver, a deacon at New Bethel Missionary Baptist Church and a board member of Cedar Spring Volunteer Fire Department No. 2. Helen Siddens worked for Houchens Industries before enrolling in beauty school and becoming a hairdresser in Fountain Run.

Jimmy Neal Siddens II had recently moved back to Allen County from California to help his parents.

Julie Murley, Jimmy Neal and Helen Siddens’ oldest daughter, spoke of the impact of the murders on the surviving family.

Reading through tears from a written statement, Murley said the family was in a state of panic after learning about the slayings and the suspect remained at large.

“As far as we knew, we were all in great danger and didn’t know where to go to be safe,” Murley said.

Murley said Edward Siddens “didn’t show love and respect” to his adoptive parents and her statement referred to him as a “monster.”

“There is no peace or understanding that will ever lessen the agony caused by the killer,” Murley said. “Every moment that he is not permanently behind bars is a moment that our entire family lives in fear that he will one day kill again.”

Court documents and testimony from the sentencing hearing detailed Edward Siddens’ troubles with mental illness and substance abuse, and the ways it manifested in his home life.

A 2014 incident in which Edward Siddens was accused of holding a gun to the back of his grandfather’s head and threatening to kill him resulted in a conviction and two-year prison sentence on charges of first-degree wanton endangerment, carrying a concealed deadly weapon, third-degree terroristic threatening and second-degree disorderly conduct.

The protective order Edward Siddens admitted to violating was taken out against him by his grandmother in August 2017. The order directed him to have no contact with Helen Siddens through Aug. 22, 2020.

Dr. Jolie Brams, a forensic psychologist who evaluated Edward Siddens for his defense team, testified that Edward Siddens’ childhood development was hindered in part by problems his mother, Shelly Siddens, had with substance abuse and addiction, her abusive relationships and Edward Siddens’ biological father’s absence from most of his life.

Although Shelly Siddens’ parents went on to adopt Edward, Brams said he had very few adults in his home life who showed loving support or modeled good behavior important to a child’s development.

In previously recorded testimony played at the hearing, Shelly Siddens acknowledged her problems with addiction and her son’s struggles while living with his grandparents, while expressing hope that he could be paroled after serving time in prison.

Edward Siddens’ defense team, led by Eric Clark of the state Department of Public Advocacy, requested a sentence of life with a chance at parole after serving at least 25 years.

Brams testified that Edward Siddens’ grandparents kicked his mother out of the house when she was pregnant at 17 with her son, and then his grandparents often exhibited passive or direct hostility toward Edward Siddens after adopting him and exposed him to a lot of denigration of his mother.

Childhood at home was so traumatic that Edward Siddens recalled feeling suicidal at age 10, and he turned to abusing alcohol and drugs as a way to cope as a young adult, Brams said

“Dilon has been very angry about the way his grandparents felt about his mother, angry about his mother, very confused about how he should feel about people and obviously much of this is generational,” Brams said.

At school, Edward Siddens struggled with learning disabilities but tried to hide his problems, seeking and largely receiving acceptance from his peers, according to Brams.

While speaking with him, Brams sought the opinion of another doctor, who placed Edward Siddens on the autism spectrum.

“He had a lot of obstacles in his life and his ability to deal with those obstacles was limited,” Brams said.

Edward Siddens’ physical and mental health problems continued into adulthood, entailing psychiatric hospitalizations and threats to kill his grandparents, according to court testimony.

The most recent hospitalization, at Western State Hospital, ended in August 2017.

Allen Circuit Judge Janet Crocker said the “failures of our systems to provide interventions” and more thoroughly address Edward Siddens’ mental health problems created a dangerous situation for his victims.

“If anyone had a crystal ball when he was discharged after a 10-day stay at Western State, maybe none of us would be here today,” Crocker said. “I appreciate Dilon’s perception that he may never have felt like his life was worth much … but what I hear is that Dilon Siddens’ life mattered to his grandparents, I believe it mattered to his uncle and it clearly mattered to his mother.”

– Follow courts reporter Justin Story on Twitter @jstorydailynews or visit bgdailynews.com.