SOUTH FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — Emotional testimony came from parents whose children were stabbed to death as they returned from a run to the store to get snacks.
It was testimony during the sentencing phase of the death penalty trial for William Felts. And it was testimony that had some jurors in tears.
"I miss my child," father Chris Kimble said in tears from the witness stand. He broke down on several occasions as he told a jury how the murder of his daughter has adversely impacted his life. "I am forced to live a life without another hug from her," he said.
Chrisondra Sierra Kimble, 13, and her cousin, Dell Mattox Jr., 15, were both murdered as they walked through a wooded area behind Bethune Elementary in April 2007. Prosecutors say their killers planned to rob them.
A jury just convicted Felts for his role in the murders. It took them less than two hours to return with a verdict of guilty on 10 or 11 counts, including murder, kidnapping and aggravated assault during a robbery.
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. The victims' families gave tearful impact statements during sentencing.
Jurors cried as Dell's mother explained how the murders made her over-protective of her younger son. "I didn't want what happened to Dell to happen to Donovan," Rhonda Mattox tearfully explained. "It's not fair to him."
Dell's father says his son used to call him every day from the bus stop. "I still expect that phone call sometimes. It don't ring. It doesn't ring. He doesn't call me anymore," Dell Mattox Sr. said sadly.
All of that is why Sierra's mother asked the jury to give Felts the death penalty. "And I know that it won't bring my sunshine back to me but it will give me that knowledge that justice was served," Zondra Mathis said from the witness stand.
Felts' attorney asked the jury to sentence him to life. Life with or without parole. They even had an attorney for Felts' co-defendant, Jeremy Moody, take the stand and say Moody admitted Felts had nothing to do with the murder. But prosecutors say Moody also admitted that Felts did have something to do with it.
Jeremy Moody was sentenced to death for his role in the murders in 2013.
A jury will begin deliberating Felts' fate Wednesday after they hear one more witness.