ADRIAN -- Deb Carey remembers the last evening she spent with Theresa Carey, right down to the "Wendy's single, cheese, everything, no tomato" her best friend had to eat.

Recounting the night in a Lenawee County courtroom Friday, Mrs. Carey -- who eventually married Theresa's brother, Robert -- said she had a bad feeling when she and Theresa stopped at their friend, Yolanda Torres Madison's house. She didn't go inside, but instead had Theresa drive her home.

Theresa went back to Ms. Madison's house, where both women would be murdered by Anthony Guy Walker. His attorney claims Walker may have committed as many as 30 murders in his lifetime.

"I have lived for 30 years wondering what if," Mrs. Carey said. "They call it survivor's guilt."

What if she'd insisted her friend go home? What if she'd gone with her? What if she'd seen something was amiss and run to the sheriff's office that was just across the street?

"I didn't get to help my friend that night, and that's what friends do. They take care of each other," Mrs. Carey said, fighting back tears. "I escaped you, Walker. I don't know why, but you didn't get to kill me that night. I'm still here."

Walker, who had pleaded guilty last month to three counts of open murder, was sentenced Friday by Lenawee Circuit Court Judge Timothy Pickard to three life sentences without possibility of parole.

Already in prison for a rape conviction, Walker, 53, appeared unmoved by the testimony of family members of the two young women he murdered Jan. 15, 1979, and relatives of Floyd Beatty, who Walker admitted shooting to death at his Clinton, Mich.-area home on March 1, 1979.

Asked by Judge Pickard if he cared to address the court, Walker declined.

"I'm good," he said.

As part of a plea agreement with prosecutors, Walker admitted to two other murders but was not prosecuted for them. He admitted killing Arleen Salcedo, whose decomposed body was found Sept. 22, 1975, in a field two miles south of Blissfield. He also admitted that while he was in prison in 1986 he enlisted an inmate at the former Southern Michigan Institution near Jackson to kill Daniel Staggs, 40.

Investigators in Lenawee County said Walker set fire to Ms. Madison's house after robbing and shooting the women, and in the ensuing fire, Ms. Madison's 11-month-old daughter, Jessica, died of smoke inhalation. His attorney, Robert Jameson, said Walker admits he killed Ms. Carey, 19, and Ms. Madison, 24, but insists he did not set the fire that killed the infant.

"He's admitted to all these murders, but he's steadfast in the fact that he did not set the fire," Mr. Jameson said.

Walker's guilty pleas and admissions in Lenawee County effectively clear up six homicides, although Mr. Jameson said Walker might be responsible for two dozen others. He has provided him with dates, places, and descriptions of people he has killed -- some he was hired by drug dealers to kill, others he chose to murder, Mr. Jameson said.

"This person, Anthony Walker, is more prolific of a murderer than Ted Bundy," Mr. Jameson said. "Walker killed seven people before he turned 18."

Burke Castleberry, an assistant Lenawee County prosecutor, said he does not doubt that Walker has committed more murders, but he is unaware of any other cases in Lenawee County. Det. Sgt. John Figurski of the Michigan State Police said he is looking into "multiple homicides" based on information from Walker.

While Mr. Jameson has said Walker wants someone to write a book about his life of crime -- even offering the title "For Pay or for Pleasure" -- family members of the victims were not impressed.

"There is no one that needs to hear your story. There is no decent human being who wants to hear your story," Shan Lynch, sister of Theresa Carey, told Walker and Mr. Jameson in court. "You need to tell God and you need to tell the whole truth and on that you will be judged."

While some relatives of the victims said they hoped God would forgive Walker, others did not wish him even that.

"You are a monster and a liar and I hope you will suffer as much as we do knowing what you did to Theresa, Yolanda, and baby Jessica," Ms. Carey's sister, Mary Lou Carey said.

The eighth of 12 children, Theresa Carey had just one brother, Robert. He decried Walker for destroying his sister's life and devastating their family.

Mr. Carey said he wished Michigan had the death penalty -- a comment that prompted Walker to smile.

"May God never forgive you for this," Mr. Carey told him. "May you rot in your heart. May you rot in your cell. May you rot in prison, and I pray to God you rot in hell."

Sporting the names of his sister and niece tattooed on his forearms, Frank Torres said he stopped at Ms. Madison's house the night she was killed and found the doors locked.

He knew something was wrong but didn't kick down the doors. He wishes he would have.

He demanded that Walker look at him Friday as he held up photographs of Yolanda, Jessica, and his parents, who moved back to Puerto Rico after their daughter's murder.

"This is what you took away," Mr. Torres said. "There's no bullet-proof vest in the world, no life sentence that can protect you. You will not die an old man in prison."

Judge Pickard said it was apparent Walker had no remorse for the killings, which caused so much pain and suffering for the victims' families.

"These people didn't have a chance. You took it away from them," he said.

Judge Pickard said Walker had worked only 16 months in his life and had spent the majority of his adult life in prison for criminal sexual conduct. DNA testing that wasn't available at the time of the murders helped investigators link Walker to the cold cases.

Mrs. Lynch, the oldest sister of Theresa Carey, said every year after her sister was murdered, she called her mother on Sept. 23 -- Theresa's birthday -- and Jan. 15 -- the anniversary of her death.

"I would say, 'Are you OK? Is Dad OK?' and she would do her best to tell me yes," Mrs. Lynch said. "We never talked about other things during that phone call. We said we love you and hung up. Every year my heart ached for my parents and what I couldn't do for them."

Her mother died six years ago, but her father was in the courtroom Friday. He did not speak but wrote a letter to the judge, as did other family members who could not be there.

Mrs. Lynch said afterward that while they knew Walker would receive a mandatory life sentence, it was still important for them to be there.

"We just needed to say what we needed to say," she said. "It's done. It's finally done."

Contact Jennifer Feehan at: jfeehan@theblade.com or 419-724-6129.

First Published January 22, 2011, 6:02 a.m.