ROCKINGHAM COUNTY -- The man charged in a four-year-old double murder in Rockingham County has been sentenced to two consecutive life sentences without parole.
On Friday morning Jose Alvarez Jr. pleaded guilty in the February 2012 deaths of Troy and LaDonna French.
Alvarez is the brother-in-law of their daughter, Whitley.
She was home and injured the night authorities say Alvarez broke into the Frenches' Reidsville home and shot the couple to death.
It wasn't until last August that investigators had enough evidence to arrest him.
It was an extremely emotional day in court Friday for the families involved in the French murder case, along with the investigators who worked nearly four and a half years to close it.
There was not a dry eye in the courtroom, as the French family finally got a chance to speak to Jose Alvarez, Jr., about the murders of Troy and LaDonna—a couple who meant the world to their family and community.
"You took my only sister, and you destroyed my family,” LaDonna’s sister said.
While the French family didn't want to speak on camera, they did speak candidly in court, fighting back tears as they finally came face-to-face with the couple's killer.
"We are thankful that the French family is free from anger, hatred, and all that could hold us bound in this horrible state,” said Ann French, Troy’s mother. “Know that you are forgiven."
"I’m glad you’re not getting the death penalty,” said Jordan Hayes, Troy’s nephew. “I’m glad you’re going to rot in jail, and I hope you rot in hell."
Members of the Alvarez family also cried as the DA described the killer as someone who was enamored and obsessed with the fFench home.
Alvarez would do yard work there, and found a hide-a-key—then made a copy.
"The defendant would spend five to ten minutes inside the French home and dare himself to go through the house,” said Rockingham County District Attorney Crag Blitzer. "He would often watch Troy, LaDonna, Whitley and Hunter as they slept in their beds.”
After several months of going into the home, investigators say it all came to an end on February 4, 2012. Alvarez went in again, but the French's daughter, Whitley, screamed, as a hooded Alvarez stood over her body. Her cries woke her parents, who rushed to help. Alvarez shot and killed them with a gun he'd stolen from Troy French.
"The defendant's motive in shootint Troy and LaDonna French was to simply escape from the home,” Blitzer.
DNA evidence eventually linked Alvarez to the scene.
He sat unmoved in court to the family's reactions, but did offer his apologies.
"I regret what I've done and I wish I could take it back, Alvarez said.
It was an emotional day for prosecutors as well, who worked for years to solve the case.
"Every day until this case was solved, I thought about it, because I know the family,” said Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page. “I’m glad today to saw this person responsible is going to prison for these acts for the rest of his natural life.”
A case investigators say they hope finally brings some closure to this hurting family.
"I have a special place in my heart for Whitley French. The case is closed,” Blitzer said.
Prosectors also scolded several newspaper reporters for hindering their investigation and prosecution into the case, saying they published false conspiracy theories about the murder and potential suspects.