TAMPA, Fla. — A Tampa judge sentenced a man to death a little over one year after a jury found him guilty of murdering his then-girlfriend and her son.
Tyrone Johnson, 46, shot and killed Stephanie Willis and 10-year-old Ricky "Ryon" Willis in 2018 during an argument over what to watch on television.
Johnson told detectives he shot the woman and her son out of self-defense, however, through examining evidence, the investigators found Johnson was not under attack.
"Instead, detectives determined that Johnson and his girlfriend got into an argument over what the family would watch on TV, and during that confrontation, Johnson shot her multiple times," the state attorney's office wrote in a statement back in 2021. "As this nightmare was unfolding, his girlfriend’s 10-year-old son tried to hide from Johnson.
"Terrified, he crawled under his bed to keep from being found."
Investigators said Johnson moved Willis' and Ryon's bodies so he could "stage the scene" for his 911 call and falsely claim that he was acting in self-defense.
Back in November 2021, the jury came to a unanimous decision to recommend the death penalty to Judge Christopher Sabella.
During Monday's sentencing, Johnson was sentenced to death for one count of first-degree murder. He was also issued a life sentence for the other murder. However, the death penalty overrides the life sentence, a spokesperson for the 13th Judicial Circuit Court in Tampa told 10 Tampa Bay.
It took four years for Stephanie and Ryon's family to get to this point. They say the death sentence isn't closure, but a chance to for the man who killed their family to experience what they went through.
"I think I'll get a lot more closure when he's executed and I'm in the witness chamber watching. I just want him to feel that terror," Stephanie's father Robert Hewitt said. "That sounds bad, but that's how I feel. I want to be there. I hope I live another 16 years. My health isn't good, so I hope I live that long."
The execution won't happen right away. In the meantime, the family is focused on getting both Stephanie and Ryon permanent markers where they're buried in South Carolina.