There was an emotional outburst from some courtroom spectators Thursday afternoon when a judge sentenced a man to life for a 2016 kidnapping.
Christopher Revill, 35, was sentenced to life Thursday for kidnapping Typhenie Johnson in October 2016. Johnson, who once dated Revill, has never been found.
"It is so hard," said Johnson's mother Deborah Johnson-Strub. "She would have been here for her 28th birthday to celebrate with her twin brother. She's missing all of this. We need to find those girls and bring them home."
Johnson's mother lives in South Dakota, but she has never stopped looking for her daughter. Johnson was last seen outside the Post Oak East Apartments on Tristan Lane in East Fort Worth on Oct. 10, 2016.
During the sentencing phase Thursday, the state called several witnesses to the stand including Revill's sister who gave an emotional testimony about her brother and their life growing up.
"Everybody has another side," his sister said.
Many of the witnesses were called to testify about Taalibah Islam, the mother of Revill's child. Islam has been missing since 2006.
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Revill was never investigated in connection to her disappearance, but one witness testified Thursday he reported her missing after she "got into a car with a man he [Revill] didn't know." The call was made 16 days after he reported seeing her, the witness said.
Islam's sister Hadiyah Islam said the verdict and sentence was overwhelming and a long time coming.
"I still feel my sister," Islam sobbed. "This was not be possible without Typhenie. I'm sorry to say that, but it's true. If this didn't happen to Tiffany, we would still be thinking of something of what we could do with Taalibah."
Revill's defense attorneys requested a sentence not exceeding 40 years. Lesa Pamplin, one of his attorneys, told NBC 5 they still believe parts of the investigation were "incomplete," adding their client will be appealing his conviction.
