The Capture of Serial Killer Arohn Kee

At sentencing a month later, in January 2001, relatives of his victims got a chance to address Arohn Kee.

Arohn Kee

''I hope you experience what it is like to not be able to sleep, to eat, to walk, to breathe, to not have a moment of peace, thinking of my daughter's suffering at the time of her death," said Olga Illera, mother of his first murder victim. "I will never learn to live without my daughter, who I brought to this country in search of the American dream."

Gregory Washington, father of Kee's third murder victim, tried to engage the killer with eye contact. "Look at me,'' Washington said. "Just once turn around.'' Others in the gallery began to shout, ''Turn around,'' but Kee refused to meet the father's gaze.

When his turn to speak came at the sentencing hearing, Kee had lost the bravado from his trial. He began to cry and muttered, "I'm sorry." With that, a male cousin of Johalis Castro let out an angry roar and tried to leap over the bar to attack Kee. The defendant was hustled out of the room for his own protection.

After a 15-minute interlude to calm the gallery, Justice Joan Sudolnick passed sentence, saying, "I don't know what to say to someone who has no soul, no conscience, no morality, no heart.'' She sent him away foreverthree life sentences without possibility of parole for each of the three murders, plus an additional 400 years for the four rapes.

Detective Mike Ulacco

He won't be missed, cops said. "He was a demon," said Detective Mike Ulacco. "He just needed to be put away."