Frederick Davidson snapped during his verbal defense of his master's thesis in engineering in August, 1996.
He shot and killed three professors: Chen Liang, Preston Lowrey III, and Constantinos Lyrintzis.
At sentencing, the victims' survivors wept as they addressed the court.
"I have lost my best friend, my soulmate, the love of my life," Deana Lyrintzis said.
Almost 20 years later, Deana heard about another campus shooting at UCLA, in the engineering department.
"My first thought is the family of the professor, which I imagine are going through hell right now, so my heart goes out to them."
She's re-married; named Deana Alonso-Post now.
Her daughter, who was only a year old when Constantinos was killed, is now a college student, studying abroad. They've moved on. "I'm doing well; it took a long time to heal but it still brings tears to my eyes every time there's a shooting."
Former District Attorney Paul Pfingst said he remembers as though it were yesterday.
"I will never forget being in a room with mothers, wives, holding hands, sobbing, and begging me to let them go from that tragedy by not pursuing the death penalty and keeping them in the legal system for the next God knows how many years."
No death penalty; no appeals; Davidson is serving life in prison without parole.
Thinking of those families now, Pfingst told 10News, "I think I did the right thing."
