A Michigan man has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the fatal stabbing of a 30-year-old father, ensuring he will spend the remainder of his days behind bars.

Joshua Pirtle, 33, was not present in the courtroom for his sentencing on Friday. Instead, he appeared via Zoom from the Jackson County Jail, where he was sentenced to life without parole. According to MLive, a local news outlet, Pirtle disconnected from the video call as the family of the victim, Sebastian Igafo-Teo, shared their emotional statements. The court instructed him to reconnect to hear their words.

In her heartfelt address, Jackie Igafo-Teo, the victim’s mother, confronted Pirtle, stating, “You stalked him, you harassed him, you threatened him, and you stabbed him until he was basically a pile on the floor.”

She continued with a powerful remark, “I’ve been sitting in this court for hundreds of hours over the last two years, and you don’t even have the courage to come in here on the last day.”

The conviction came after a jury found Pirtle guilty on October 30, marking just over two years since Sebastian Igafo-Teo was discovered stabbed to death in his home. MLive reported that the jury needed only three hours to reach a unanimous decision, convicting Pirtle on all charges, including first-degree murder.

On Oct. 25, 2023, Pirtle and his girlfriend, 29-year-old Klaira Diann Mishaw, were at Sebastian Igafo-Teo’s home with their mutual friend, Mathew Kush. The three men had a verbal argument during which Pirtle made a number of accusations against the two other men, including owing Pirtle $10,000, an affair with Pirtle’s girlfriend, and the sexual abuse of children. When Sebastian Igafo-Teo told Pirtle to leave, Pirtle struck him then went after Kush.

During the altercation, Pirtle yelled, “Kill the lights.” The home went dark, and Kush scrambled out of the apartment. Kush testified that he called Jackie Igafo-Teo and told her to check on her son.

Sebastian Igafo-Teo was found by his mother and father, dead after being stabbed 73 times. They immediately called 911.

Pirtle then fled the scene with Mishaw in his victim’s stolen truck. Police investigating Sebastian Igafo-Teo’s death tracked down the truck while Pirtle was behind the wheel. Pirtle led police on a chase until he crashed the truck into a home and a utility pole in Jackson, Michigan. Both were taken to the hospital to be treated for minor injuries before they were arrested and charged with open murder.

Mishaw pleaded no contest to being an accessory to murder in June. She was sentenced to three years’ probation.

In addition to his murder conviction, Pirtle was found guilty of two counts of assault with intent to murder, car theft, and third-degree fleeing and eluding police.

Before handing the case over to the jury, Jackson County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Meaghan McKeon told the court that Pirtle had been posting accusations directed at Sebastian Igafo-Teo for months on Facebook as part of some “unresolved grievance,” according to MLive. When he showed up at Sebastian Igafo-Teo’s home on Oct. 25, 2023, he intended to kill him, and not “to injure him or to scare him or to teach him a lesson.”

Despite police testifying that they found a knife with Sebastian Igafo-Teo’s blood and hair on the lawn of the home Pirtle crashed into, as well as his victim’s blood under his fingernails, Pirtle denied having anything to do with the murder during his sentencing. Over Zoom, he told the court, “We need to find out who really did it. It’s a tragedy what happened, but wrongly convicting someone just to be able to point the finger is not right for any side.”

When he tried to interrupt Jackie Igafo-Teo during her statement, she held up her finger and said, “I don’t want to talk to you anymore. You’re done.”