On Tuesday, February 21, Ronald Roldan was sentenced to 12-and-a-half years in prison for the 2011 murder of girlfriend Bethany Anne Decker. He was sentenced to 40 years of imprisonment by Judge Alfred Swersky, who later suspended all but 12-and-a-half years of the sentence.Trigger warning - This article contains graphic details of a murder. Reader discretion is advised.The Virginia resident had pleaded guilty to Decker's murder in November 2022 and his sentence is part of a of a guilty plea that includes an admittance to the crime. Decker, who was a 21-year-old George Mason University student at the time of her murder, was reportedly five months pregnant.Neal Augenstein@AugensteinWTOPBREAKING: Ronald Roldan is sentenced to serve 12.5 years in prison for the 2011 murder of Bethany Decker, who disappeared when she was 21 from the Loudoun Co apartment they shared.283BREAKING: Ronald Roldan is sentenced to serve 12.5 years in prison for the 2011 murder of Bethany Decker, who disappeared when she was 21 from the Loudoun Co apartment they shared. https://t.co/jFfme0YLiWAccording to Fox News, Ronald Roldan admitted to murdering Decker and disposing of her body in a trash compactor during the sentencing hearing on Tuesday. He was initially charged with abduction, which was later upgraded to second-degree murder.Roldan was also convicted of attacking another woman in North Carolina, who was present at the sentencing hearing on Tuesday.Neal Augenstein@AugensteinWTOPButa Biberaj: “Bethany died at his hands. She didn’t just disappear. She was killed.” Though Ronald Roldan’s explanation left questions unanswered, his guilty plea and 12.5 sentence served answers the question that she won’t return.5Buta Biberaj: “Bethany died at his hands. She didn’t just disappear. She was killed.” Though Ronald Roldan’s explanation left questions unanswered, his guilty plea and 12.5 sentence served answers the question that she won’t return. https://t.co/OLsk10GLdvRonald Roldan reportedly hid Bethany Decker's body in a Christmas tree trash bag instead of calling 911In January 2011, former George Mason University student Bethany Decker was reported missing after she was not found in her Loudoun County apartment. Her body was never recovered but Ronald Roldan recently solved the mystery of her disappearance by recounting in court how he brutally killed his then partner.According to a report from WTOP News, Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office Detective Mark Bush referred to a recorded interview at the county detention center on January 9 which provided further details on how Decker was killed. In the interview, Roldan explained how he had disposed of her body by placing it into a Christmas tree trash bag and then into a trash compactor.Megan Clarke@MClarke7NewsHAPPENING NOW: Waiting to hear from Commonwealth Attorney Buta Biberaj on sentencing for Ronald Roldan, accused in the disappearance of 21-year-old Bethany Decker in 2011.Officials confirm Decker was pregnant at the time she went missing. Her body has not been found. @7NewsDC21HAPPENING NOW: Waiting to hear from Commonwealth Attorney Buta Biberaj on sentencing for Ronald Roldan, accused in the disappearance of 21-year-old Bethany Decker in 2011.Officials confirm Decker was pregnant at the time she went missing. Her body has not been found. @7NewsDC https://t.co/mQ8JHiubtXThis was the first time in more than a decade that Decker’s family learned what happened to her body, which was never found. Prosecutors claimed that Roldan never called 911. Additionally, the victim's family members accused the Virginia man of being abusive and "controlling," even allegedly threatening Decker and the rest of the family.On Tuesday, Bethany Decker's grandmother testified in court that she was at her house the night before she was killed and was supposedly staying because of Ronald Roldan's alleged harassment. However, following a phone call, Decker hurriedly ran out of her grandmother's house. This was the last time the then-21-year-old's grandmother saw her alive. In court, she said:"I couldn't save her. I want you to save the next girl."Neal Augenstein@AugensteinWTOPKim Nelson said after 12 years of hoping, the family went ‘from missing to murdered,’ when Ronald Roldan confessed to her murder.32Kim Nelson said after 12 years of hoping, the family went ‘from missing to murdered,’ when Ronald Roldan confessed to her murder. https://t.co/O7h0wDmHiIBethany Decker's mother, Kimberly Nelson, said:"It was quite tragic for us to go from missing to murdered in just a sentence and in a day."She recalled the last time she spoke to her daughter, stating:"The night before Bethany was murdered, she called me and she said, 'Mom, I love you,' is the last thing she told me."Another victim of Ronald Roldan was also present at the sentencing hearing and shouted profanities at him as he was escorted out in handcuffs.