Edward Covington has been sentenced to death for the 2008 murders of his girlfriend and her two children.
Covington had pleaded guilty last year to three counts of first-degree murder, abuse of a human body and animal cruelty.
He was arrested in May 2008 after investigators said he killed his girlfriend, Lisa Frieberg, and her two children, Zachary, 7, and Heather Savannah, 2, in a Lutz mobile home.
During the penalty phase, the defense had argued that Covington had a long history of mental illness that led to the murders. However, prosecutors said Covington had been abusing cocaine for several years, and that played a role in the murders.
The death penalty sentencing was a little out of the ordinary, since usually a jury will help the judge decide on life or death. In this case, since Covington pleaded guilty, it was only the judge's decision. Covington, a former prison guard, waived his right to a jury saying he just wanted the ordeal over with.
The judge added two more death sentences for each child's murder, too.
Lisa Frieberg's mother and father quietly smiled once the judge gave his sentence.
"It's the verdict we wanted," said Barbara Freiberg. "He took the lives of our children, so it should be his life too the way we see it."
While there is a sense of closure, the Freibergs say the pain will remain forever.
"Life will go on," Barbara Freiberg said. "Lisa, Zachary, and Savannah will be remembered in our hearts and in our heads, we'll be with them once again. Hopefully not for awhile, but we'll see them again."
Covington has 30 days to appeal the sentence.