The families of women murdered by New York’s notorious Gilgo Beach serial killer have confronted him in court, as Rex Heuermann was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Heuermann, 62, pleaded guilty earlier this year to murdering seven women and admitted to an eighth killing, bringing an end to one of America’s most infamous unsolved murder investigations.

The victims’ remains had been discovered along a stretch of coastline on Long Island, sparking a mystery that remained unsolved for more than a decade.

During Wednesday’s sentencing hearing, family members delivered emotional victim impact statements. Nicolette Brainard-Barnes, whose mother Maureen Brainard-Barnes was among the victims, told the court she was just seven years old when her mother disappeared.

“I was a little girl and I needed my mom,” she said.

Relatives described years of grief, unanswered questions and the lasting trauma caused by the murders. Heuermann sat silently throughout the hearing before receiving a sentence that ensures he will spend the rest of his life behind bars.

–with Brianna Parkins