The man convicted of a gruesome 2014 crime has been sentenced to death.

Granville Ritchie raped and murdered 9-year-old Felicia Williams, then dumped her body near the Courtney Campbell Causeway.

A jury in Hillsborough County found Ritchie guilty in September 2019 of first-degree murder, sexual battery and aggravated child abuse.

In court on Friday, Williams' mother and father watched as her killer's sentence was handed down. Jerome Williams told Spectrum Bay News 9 he forgives the 41-year-old who took his little girl's life. 

Felicia Demerson said she literally counted down the days until Granville Ritchie was brought to justice.

"I’ve waited 2,310 days for this to come," she recalled. "I feel like death is the appropriate (punishment0. My heart hasn't changed, and he needs to be like her."

Williams' father, though, suprised the courtroom when he said to Ritchie, "Ain't none of your attorneys or your people asked for forgiveness, but I'm coming to you and giving you my forgiveness. I love you."

Previous Spectrum Bay News 9 coverage of the Granville Ritchie trial can be found here.