A judge in North Carolina sentenced Jonathan Sander on Monday to life without parole for the shotgun killings of three members of a family from Bergen County after they accused him of theft and child molestation.

Sandy Mazzella, 47, his wife, Stephenie, 43, and Sandy’s mother, Elaine, 76, moved to Wake County, North Carolina, from New Milford several years ago. They were shot to death in their home March 25, 2016 – one day after a judge dismissed a restraining order they filed against Sander, who lived next door.

Sander, 56, was found guilty Monday following a three-week trial that began in March.

Elaine Mazzella with Sandy and Stephenie Mazzella on their wedding day. The three family members from Bergen County were shot to death in North Carolina in 2016. (File)

The murders took just two minutes, a point Judge Graham Shirley referenced several times during sentencing, which was streamed live on local television websites. The Mazellas had moved from New Jersey to North Carolina about eight years before the killings.

“When the lights go dark, I want you to lie in your bed and think (about) that two-minute period that was described in which you ruined the lives of not only your family but the Mazzellas,” Shirley said. “When you take your last breath, you’re going to die alone and you’re going to die forgotten. Get him out of my courtroom.”

Jonathan Sander, seated, is surrounded by bailiffs during one of several outbursts during his sentencing Monday for murdering three members of a family from Bergen County. (Photo courtesy of the Raleigh News & Observer)

Earlier in court, the Mazzella’s two surviving children spoke about how the murders affected them. Elaine Mazzella’s husband, Sal, said he cannot understand why Sander attacked the family. Sandy Mazzella and Sander were partners in a landscaping business.

“I still cannot understand why you hated my son so much,” Sal Mazzella said in his statement. “It baffles me.”

Still, Sal Mazzella told Sander he does not hate him in part because his religion has taught him compassion.

“I have chosen to forgive you,” Mazzella said. “God has given me the strength to do the impossible.”

Before sentencing him to life without parole, Judge Graham Shirley told Jonathan Sander he had ruined the lives of not only the Mazzella family, but the lives of his children as well. (Courtesy of the Raleigh News & Observer)

The hearing turned contentious at times, with Sander addressing the Mazzella family directly and blaming them for the accusations that led him to violence.

When Sal Mazzella and other family members stood and to walk out of the courtroom as Sander spoke before his sentencing, he urged them to stay.

“Sal, I think you should really hear this,” Sander said. “Don’t disappear because there’s going to be a problem.”

Sandy Mazzella, left, with Jonathan Sander in a photo taken months before the murders. (File)

In his statement, Sander blamed Sandy Mazzella for ruining their landscaping business. He lashed out at the Mazzellas, repeating his contention that he was falsely accused.

“I was getting set up on child molestation charges,” Sander said, his voice raised. “So, I was going to go to jail for something I didn’t do? No. I was built up with anger, I was built up with paranoia, I was built up with anxiety,” Sander said. “I had the spirits around me saying ‘These guys are bad. They’re framing you.’”

Sal Mazzella is comforted in a Raleigh, North Carolina courtroom Monday during sentencing of Jonathan Sander, who murdered Mazzella's son, wife and daughter-in-law in 2016. (Courtesy of the Raleigh News & Observer)

In sentencing Sander, the judge said even if he had been convicted of a molestation charge, as a first-time offender, he would not have gone to jail.

“You more than likely would have been put on probation and never served a day in prison,” Shirley said. “By your acts, you destroyed not only the Mazzella family but you destroyed your own kids’ lives. Your acts were selfish and they were cowardly.”

Sandy Mazzella’s brother, Rich Sussman of Elmwood Park, said he was in North Carolina for part of the trial but came back to New Jersey before the verdict and sentencing because he found Sander’s behavior too distressing.

“He was allowed to disrupt the proceedings throughout the trial and babble on about anything he wanted,” Sussman said. “Now that this convicted murderer has been sentenced, I hope he never sees the light of day again.”

Sandy and Stephenie Mazzella. (File)

Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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