A judge on Wednesday sentenced Timothy Williams to 25 years to life in prison in a 40-year-old cold case murder in Rochester.

Williams was convicted in March of killing 14-year-old Wendy Jerome in 1984. He was found guilty on three counts of second-degree murder. The guilty verdict came in a retrial, after the first ended in a mistrial in December because of allegations of alleged juror misconduct.

Jerome left her home on Thanksgiving to visit a friend. Her body was found a short time later outside School 33 on Webster Avenue, just three blocks from her home. Authorities say she had been raped and repeatedly stabbed.

Police say a familial DNA hit helped lead them to Williams, who had been a neighbor of the Jerome family at the time of the murder.

"For 35 years, he had the opportunity to come forward and turn himself in, yet he chose to further my pain and that of our family by remaining silent," said Wendy Jerome's mother, Marlene. "That's what only a coward would do. I promised her that I would never give up searching for the killer. And with the help of technology and the diligence of many, I was able to keep that promise."

“What he did to my sister and the life that he stole from her is unforgivable,” said Wendy Jerome’s brother, Bill Jerome.

“His actions that night tore the hearts and souls out of her father, her brother and myself,” said Marlene Jerome.

Both spoke in court during their victim impact statements. They have waited 39 1/2 years to have their day in court.

"Your honor, I ask with my whole being that you impose the maximum sentence for the heinous crimes that were committed against my daughter, a defenseless child who fought with everything she had to survive her attack and lost," Marlene Jerome told the judge. "The last thing she saw was the face of pure evil.”

“He doesn’t deserve your mercy," said Bill Jerome, who was 10 years old when his sister was killed. "He doesn’t deserve to ever live a life of freedom outside of prison walls ever again. There should be no parole opportunities, early release or anything else except for the rest of his useless life incarcerated.”

The attorneys also weighed in.

“He killed her. After 36 years he thought he got away with murder, but he didn’t,” and, turning to the convicted murderer, Monroe County District Attorney Sandra Doorley said, “You didn’t Mr. Williams, you didn’t get away with murder.”

“I understand the family’s desire for and their feeling of closure," said Defense Attorney Donald Thompson. "Certainly, they’ve waited a long time to have that feeling of closure. It’s our contention that that feeling is misplaced. Obviously, we’re going to file an appeal."

The sentence for the conviction of three counts of second-degree murder was announced by Judge Alex Renzi.

“On each of those three counts the court is going to impose an indeterminant sentence to the Department of Corrections a minimum of 25 years and a maximum of the rest of your life," Renzi said. "The sentences on each of those counts are going to run concurrent to each other by law.”

“As far as sentencing goes, yes, I am so glad that he got what he deserves, as much as he could give him," Marlene Jerome said. "The judge did right."

“They’re going to remember Wendy forever and hopefully as each day passes it’s going to be a little easier for them now that justice has been served,” the judge said from the bench.