MONTROSE -- A man from Susquehanna County was sentenced Thursday morning for killing his own mother.
A judge sentenced Benjamin Ball to 16 to 36 years in prison.
This all comes after Ball admitted he strangled his mother, then stuffed her body in a box and padlocked it.
Ball had nothing to say walking into the Susquehanna County Courthouse right before a judge sentenced him to 16 to 36 years in prison, his punishment for killing his mother Lisa Ball.
In January of 2015, Ball strangled his mother inside their home on Washington Street in New Milford.
Troopers found Lisa Ball's body inside a storage bin with a padlock on it. At the time, Benjamin Ball told investigators he and his mother got into an argument, he snapped and choked her.
After pleading guilty to third degree murder, Ball's defense team called a psychologist to the stand to help explain that Ball wasn't entirely responsible for his actions because he was under the influence of heroin and methamphetamines.
Susan Cudo, Lisa's sister and Benjamin's aunt, said afterward, "Being on both sides of this is very difficult. I love my sister and my nephew and it's too hard. She'll be gone forever and he'll be gone for at least 20 years."
For people in the New Milford community, Ball's sentence marks the end of one of the darkest chapters for this community. But many people we spoke with wish that Ball's sentence was a whole lot harsher.
"Anybody has got to be sick to do that to their mother, of all people, and then try to hide it in a box with a padlock. It just doesn't happen in small towns like this," said Linda Groover.
"I just feel there's a discrepancy between other people that commit similar crimes and this crime," said Annie Higbee.
"I hope he learns from what he did and gets something out of it, but it doesn't seem like it's enough time for somebody who did that to somebody else. He probably should have had more time in prison," said Luann Smith.
Ball pleaded guilty last month.