A grieving mother told her daughter's killer to 'rot in hell' as he learned he would spend the rest of his life behind bars.
Convicted double murderer Franklyn Delanoy Williams, 51, came face-to-face with the mother of victim Gabrella Griffith, 27, who was viciously stabbed to death by Williams in 2019 alongside her roommate Sophia Simpson, 35.
As Williams was sentenced to life in prison on Tuesday, Griffith's mother Juliette Rose confronted the killer in her victim impact statement: 'I pray every day that God can give me the strength to forgive you, but it's hard.'
'I hope you rot in hell,' she said, in courtroom footage from NBC Miami.
Williams showed no emotion as he listened to the testimony, which came after Griffith and Simpson's families cheered in the courtroom as a judge condemned Williams to life.
Prosecutors described a grisly scene inside Griffith and Williams' luxury apartment building in Miami, Florida, when they were slain by Williams on May 7, 2019.
Simpson - who was Williams' girlfriend at the time - was found with more than 50 stab wounds as she lay dead near Griffith, who had been stabbed 10 times.
Williams had claimed he killed the women out of self-defense, but jurors rejected this as they found him guilty this week after less than two hours' deliberation.
Juliette Rose (pictured), the mother of murder victim Gabrella Griffith, told her daughter's killer to 'rot in hell' as she confronted him at his sentencing on Tuesday
Convicted double murderer Franklyn Delanoy Williams, 51, showed no emotion as he heard Rose's heartbreaking victim impact statement, shortly before learning he would spend the rest of his life in prison
Gabrella Griffith, 27, (right) was viciously stabbed to death by Williams in 2019 alongside her roommate Sophia Simpson, 35, (left), who had dated the killer
Williams remained silent throughout his sentencing, but previously testified in his own defense as he confessed to killing the women.
He insisted that he was forced to stab them to death out of fear for his life as he claimed he was the victim.
He told jurors from the stand: 'She grabbed the knife, and I was sitting on the bed.She came and stabbed me. I held up my hands, and I had gotten cut.'
But prosecutors portrayed the killings as a vengeful act from Williams against his girlfriend Simpson, with Griffith caught up in the chaos when he stabbed her to death.
Prosecutor Lindsay Davis said in closing arguments: 'He attacks her with the knife and stabs her 50 times, ladies and gentlemen, predominately in the back.
'The back, the back of the head, the neck.
'And she has defense wounds on her hand, in trying to shield and protect herself.'
Williams claimed self-defense, but jurors rejected this theory as they heard how both women were brutally stabbed dozens of times
Griffith (pictured) and Simpson's families cheered in the courtroom as a judge condemned Williams to life in prison this week
The women were found dead inside their luxury apartment building on May 7, 2019, where Willaims had reportedly been living as well. Pictured: Emergency responders at the scene after the bodies were discovered
According to an arrest report from Local10, Williams had been Simpson's boyfriend for around 10 years, and often lived in the apartment where the women were killed.
After the stabbings, he called Homeland Security after the slayings and them the Miami Police Department asking them to perform a welfare check, where officers found the bodies.
Williams' attorneys had fought for a lighter sentence, but a judge was seen in courtroom footage slamming the killer.
'There are no redeeming qualities here, and the only appropriate punishment is to sentence you to life in prison,' the judge said.
As he read the sentence, Rose could be heard exclaiming: 'Thank God.'
Williams (seen during his testimony) told jurors he acted in self-defense, saying: 'She grabbed the knife, and I was sitting on the bed. She came and stabbed me. I held up my hands, and I had gotten cut.' He was convicted in under two hours
Griffith's sister Nicole Odem appeared in court to see Williams be sentenced, and said she felt a 'responsibility' to 'make sure he went to jail for a long time'
Griffith's sister Nicole Odem appeared in court to see Williams be sentenced, which was her first time at a hearing related to her sister's killing since she was slain six years ago.
Odem told NBC Miami that she 'didn't want to come', but felt a responsibility to pay respect to her sister.
'Thereis a greater responsibility, and I needed to make sure he went to jail for a long time,' she said.
