The murderer of a gay man learned Monday that he will spend the rest of his life behind bars. David A. Higdon stared off toward an American flag at the far end of the courtroom as Judge Frank Dawley told him the price he would pay for beating Philip Walsted to death with a baseball bat. Coming two months after Higdon's conviction for first-degree murder, Dawley's sentence of "natural life" in prison means Higdon has no hope of ever walking free on parole. The 22-year-old Pima Community College graduate, sitting motionless with his wrists and ankles shackled, showed no reaction to the judge's words. But for Walsted's family and friends, the 68-minute hearing marked the end of an ordeal that stretches back to June 12, 2002, when Walsted was found severely beaten near his University of Arizona-area home. Walsted's mother, Judy Boyer, joined prosecutors in insisting that Higdon be put away for good, so as to remove any possibility he might kill again. "He has evil running in his blood," Boyer told Dawley during the hearing. "He has no regard for human life." "I believe in my heart that my son is here today waiting for your decision," she said, her voice cracking. Walsted, 24 at the time of his death, was hit in the head with a baseball bat eight to 20 times. He suffered injuries at 51 points on his body. Authorities say the attack began as a robbery. Higdon was arrested about a week after Walsted was found. Walsted's eyeglasses and driver's license, as well as a baseball bat and clothing that bore Walsted's blood, were found in Higdon's home. While incarcerated, Higdon obtained a tattoo - a swastika with a pair of black lightning bolts in the center. Prosecutor Teresa Godoy told jurors at the close of his trail in January that the symbol was reserved in neo-Nazi culture for one who had "killed for the cause." In court Monday, Higdon's head was freshly shaven - an act that did not escape the notice of prosecutor Mark Diebolt. "He wants the world to know he's a skinhead," Diebolt said. Bobbi Berry, Higdon's attorney, unsuccessfully attempted to soften the sentence by asking her client's father and uncle to speak on his behalf. Michael Higdon told how his youngest son suffered as a young child when his parents divorced and later when one brother committed suicide and another died in a motorcycle accident. But despite his "troubles," Michael Higdon said, his son was always a smart and helpful child. Joseph Higdon, an uncle who for 20 years worked for the Tucson Police Department, said David would benefit from rehabilitation. Dawley, however, said the mitigating factors were not enough to support a sentence less than natural life. Dawley also sentenced Higdon to serve 15 and three-quarters years for armed robbery.