Sponsorship Link
Jarred Harrell, the 26-year-old man who pleaded guilty to kidnapping, raping and murdering Somer Thompson,7, was sentenced to life in prison, without the possibility of parole.
The Associated Press reported that her twin brother, Samuel, 9, addressed his sister's killer from the witness stand stating, "You know you did this, and now you're going to jail." (Watch the family speak here.)
Harrell was spared the death penalty because of a deal in which he agreed not to appeal any of his convictions. Somer's family was OK with the deal, but her mother Diena Thompson said that Harrell's punishment doesn't "absolutely" fit his crime.
"Remember now, there is no safe place for you," Diena Thompson said, as reported by The AP. "You do not have an impenetrable cell. There will be no peace in the afterlife."
Somer, a second-grader who lived in Orange Park, Fla., disappeared while walking home from school on Oct. 19, 2009. She ran ahead of her sister and friends after a petty quarrel, The AP reported.
Follow us
Must Read
Authorities said Harrell lured the young girl into the home he was living in with his mother, asphyxiated her and tossed her body into a trash bin. Somer's body was later found in a landfill in southern Georgia. Harrell was arrested three months after Somer's death. Authorities had to tail nine garbage trucks from Somer's neighborhood to the landfill and sort through more than 225 tons of garbage before they saw the girl's legs sticking out of the garbage.
After Somer's disappearance, Harrell moved to Meridian, Miss., to live with an aunt, The AP reported. Harrell's Florida roommates has said they kicked him out for stealing and that they had found child pornography on his computer. The device was turned over to the police, but they had to prove Harrell downloaded the child pornography and so he wasn't arrested then.
Authorities said Harrell confessed to sexually molesting and killing the 7 year old and disposing of her body. His DNA was also found on Somer. Harrell pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, kidnapping, sexual battery, possession of child pornography and other sex charges. Some of those charges stem from an unrelated molestation case involving a 3-year-old relative, authorities told The AP.
