A man sentenced to 20 to 40 years in prison for beating death of a Penn State student

A man convicted of third-degree murder in the beating death of a Penn State student from South Korea was sentenced to 20 to 40 years in prison.

Photo: A man sentenced to 20 to 40 years in prison for beating death of a Penn State student

Andrew Rogers received the maximum possible sentence after being convicted last month of third-degree murder in the February 2006 death of Youngcheol Park. Authorities said Rogers bludgeoned Park inside Rogers' home with a baseball bat, a beer bottle and a rolling pin.

Park, a student from South Korea studying aerospace engineering, was killed during a brawl over cocaine and money, prosecutors had said.

Rogers was also convicted in April of theft and receiving stolen property.

Centre County Judge Bradley Lunsford rejected Rogers' plea for leniency at the sentencing on Thursday.

"This was not self-defense," Lunsford said. "This was a cocaine-fueled slaughter. Mr. Park was never a threat to you. You were in control from the first blow. You beat the life out of Mr. Park."