Jose Juan Sanchez stood in front of the judge and pled guilty for killing his ex-girlfriend.
He's charged with murdering Laura Reyes the night of July 12 2009.
"He was a very possessive person," said Reyes' daughter Amy Hernandez. "He was an angry person."
Authorities said Sanchez bashed Reyes' head with a 14 pound rock at Westgate Park in McAllen, and after killing her, he drove around to find a place to dump her body.
He finally decided on an area in Hargill.
He then abandoned the van he used to driver her there, and with the help of a relative Ernesto Castillo, he made his way home and escaped to Chicago where authorities later found him.
The prosecution had witnesses lined up and evidence to show the jury, but before the trial could start, Sanchez changed his plea of not guilty to guilty and now he's facing 40 years in prison.
"It's not enough years," said Hernandez.
Hernandez said it's painful to know that Sanchez will be out in 40 years, but her mother won't see the light of day anymore.
"He doesn't know what he did, he took away my mother, my best friend," said Hernandez. "He took away my everything. She was my everything to me."
As Sanchez was taken away to live his life behind bars, Hernandez continues to cope with how to live without her mother.
"I'm 19. I need her a lot," said Hernandez. "I have a life in front of me and i need her a lot."
As for Ernesto Castillo, he was arraigned after Sanchez's conviction.
Authorities said Castillo moved Sanchez's van a few inches from one spot of the field in Hargill to another before abandoning the van.
Ernesto Castillo will serve 10 years probation for tampering with evidence.
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