ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A man convicted of a brutal beating and rape back in 1994 has finally been sentenced. The case was cold for decades before DNA from a rape kit identified him two years ago.

On November 26, 1994, Susan was in the middle of her morning jog when she was ambushed by a man and brutally attacked.

Three decades later the man responsible, Gilbert Contreras faced a judge for sentencing.

“He beat her, kicked her, forced her to a secluded area by the river in the bosque and brutally and violently raped her,” said the prosecutor during the sentencing hearing.

The state read a statement from the woman who came across Susan that day back in 1994: “Her face was twice the swelling of the normal face, her eyes were like little slits, she had big bruises and blood coming down her mouth.”

The judge also heard from her daughter, who said her mother died before ever seeing justice.

“Thirty years is not quick,” said Susan’s daughter Laura. “I lost hope for justice long ago. He doesn’t care about his victims, he doesn’t care at all.”

The state argued for the max sentencing of 72 years because of how violent the crime was and Contreras’ previous criminal record, while the defense wanted 15-to-20 years because he was already almost 60 years old.

Ultimately the judge sentenced him to 54 years behind bars and said Contreras will most likely spend the rest of his life in prison.

“There is a long felony history, there is a history of violent crime with Mr. Contreras,” Judge Courtney Weaks said. “I don’t think the court has to reiterate that this is an extremely violent and an extremely heinous case.”