Killer of Rutgers student gets life plus 7 years

A Lindenwold man was sentenced today to life in prison, plus seven years, for the first-degree murder of his estranged girlfriend, a Rutgers-Camden honors student killed in front of her toddler after she ended the tumultuous relationship.

Troy Whye, 39, showed little emotion as the judge imposed a mandatory life sentence for the death of Krystal Skinner, 23. The judge added the consecutive seven years because Whye left his 2-year-old son beside Skinner's body March 26, 2008.

Skinner's younger sister, Brittany Skinner, described her sister as a giving person who care deeply for her son and was dedicated to a career in social work. Instead, Skinner said, her sister's plans were cut short by a "vicious" murder.

Camden County Assistant Prosecutor Sally Smith played a tape recorded by police in March 2006 when Skinner said Whye repeated threatened to kill her and leave their son motherless.

Whye, who his acted as his own attorney during his trial last year and during today's sentencing in Camden County Superior Court, told Judge Samuel Natal that he "never laid a hand" on Skinner.

"We all know women lie sometimes and have the tendency to exaggerate," Whye said, concluding, "That's all judge."