TROY, N.Y. — A Lansingburgh double-murder case that lasted more than two-and-a-half years is finally over.

Daniel Reuter was sentenced Thursday to 40 years behind bars. He had first been arrested in September 2014 and accused of beating Allen and Maria Lockrow to death inside their own Lansingburgh home. In a plea deal, Reuter admitted to manslaughter, and agreed to the 40-year sentence in exchange for testifying against co-defendant Jacob Heimroth.

"I ask that you put this animal in the cage where he belongs, for as long as you possibly can," said Joe Rielly during his in-court victim impact statement on Thursday.

Rielly, brother of murder victim Allen Lockrow, later said he was pleased with the sentence.

"We'll never forget [Allen]. He was the joy of our lives, every one of us," Rielly said. "Now we can put this to rest, hopefully."

In 2016, co-defendant Jacob Heimroth was sentenced to 50 years to life for his role in the murders. That only came after long and costly complications that overturned his initial murder indictment, and nearly voided his conviction at trial.

In addition, Daniel Reuter saw his sentencing delayed twice. The second slow-down came Thursday during court, when a paperwork issue forced proceedings to recess for 25 minutes.

"Nobody ever wants any delays, for any reason," said District Attorney Joel Abelove, insisting that the slow-downs during the case have not been headline material. "It happens — everybody's human."

On the successful end of a murder case, Abelove sought only to reassure the community.

"Justice has been served," he said. "These two individuals were caught, they were prosecuted, and they're going to be in prison — at least, in Mr. Reuter's case, for the better part of his life."

After 31 grueling months of prosecution, the family of Allen and Maria Lockrow is left mostly happy.

"I just hope some things in the system can get cleaned up," said Joe Rielly. "No family should have to go through this. This was brutal."

Reuter's attorney indicated he does not wish to appeal the ruling. Reuter is also planning to attend mental health counseling while in prison.