JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Palatka man found guilty of fatally stabbing a 16-year-old girl over a hundred times in 2020 will spend the rest of his life behind bars.
On Tuesday, Anthony Maurice Foxx, 21, was sentenced to life in prison without the opportunity for parole for the deadly stabbing of his then-girlfriend Ayana Belton.
Belton's parents shared their thoughts for the judge to consider at the sentencing hearing.
"It hurts, when you have someone in your heart, but no longer physically present with you and your family," said Belton's Father, Robert Belton.
Belton vividly remembers the night of March 26th, 2020, when he got a knock on the door from his daughter, Ayana Belton's then-boyfriend Anthony Foxx.
Foxx told him his daughter was on the lawn, dead.
An autopsy report indicates that she had at least 124 "sharp force" injuries from some sort of weapon.
"After seeing the pictures of how she was stabbed, this scenario of my daughter's death has hit me even harder," said Robert Belton.
Her mother, Melanie Belton, had a family friend share a message for the judge.
"This is my worst nightmare," said the family friend while reading Melanie Belton's statement. "Especially how my daughter. I ask myself, 'Why not me? Why did it have to be her?'"
Belton's mother says the 16-year-old dreamed of going to the University of Florida to become a registered nurse.
"I will never have her calling me excited, telling me she will be a mother," said the family friend while continuing to read the statement. "She'll never grow old or watch her children or grandchildren grow up. All of that was stolen from her and me."
Foxx chose not to address the court. He will have 30 days to appeal the decision.
The State Attorney's Office says crucial physical evidence included Foxx’s DNA found under the victim’s fingernails. Her phone was also processed and threatening Facebook messages from the defendant to the victim three days before her death were uncovered.
“The defendant stabbed his 16-year-old girlfriend more than 120 times in a viscous and merciless rage,” State Attorney R.J. Larizza said of the case. “Such a brutal and furious crime - to such a young and promising young girl - leaves us all with a sense of disbelief and disgust. May the family find some measure of consolation in the fact that the life sentence insures he will die in the state prison system.”
The Palatka Police Department investigated the case. Assistant State Attorney Mark Johnson successfully prosecuted the case for the State. The Honorable Howard McGillin presided over the case and pronounced sentence.