Justice Served: US Man Gets Life for Killing Girlfriend and Teen Sister

​A 36-year-old man has been handed two life prison sentences after pleading guilty to the devastating 2022 shooting deaths of two young sisters in Ashland, Kentucky.

​John Tooson received the sentences in Boyd Circuit Court following a plea agreement. In addition to two counts of murder, Tooson pleaded guilty to first-degree robbery, possession of a handgun by a convicted felon, wanton endangerment, and being a persistent felony offender. Under Kentucky state law, he will first become eligible for parole after serving 25 years of his sentence.

​The conviction stems from a June 2022 tragedy. Prosecutors stated that Tooson was in a relationship with 20-year-old Selina Easter when he entered her Ashland apartment and opened fire, fatally wounding both Easter and her 18-year-old sister, Summer Algarakhuly. Miraculously, Algarakhuly’s newborn daughter was in an adjacent room during the gunfire and survived unharmed. Following the killings, Tooson fled the state, sparking a multi-state manhunt that eventually ended with his capture by authorities in Ohio.

ADVERTISEMENT

​The sentencing hearing was marked by emotional victim impact statements from family members who detailed the permanent scars left on the victims’ children. One relative, who is now raising Algarakhuly’s daughter, shared the heavy emotional toll of the tragedy.

​“I was only ever supposed to be her aunt,” she told the court. “She will never know what it feels like to run into her mother Summer’s arms after a bad day.”

​State officials emphasized that while the legal conclusion brings accountability, it cannot undo the profound grief inflicted on the family. Boyd County Commonwealth’s Attorney Rhonda Copley praised the plea for delivering justice for the “senseless and tragic loss of two young lives.”

​Attorney General Russell Coleman echoed those sentiments in a statement, noting the irreplaceable loss of a parent. “The sentences delivered do not heal the emptiness left behind, but, we hope, provide justice for all those who loved these two young women,” Coleman said.