'Justice was finally served': Man sentenced to death for rape, murder of 5-year-old girl

A man convicted of the rape and murder of a 5-year-old girl in eastern Alabama nearly three years ago was sentenced to death by a judge on Monday.

Following a three-day trial last week, a Russell County jury on Friday found 39-year-old Jeremy Tremain Williams guilty of four counts of capital murder in the torture and slaying ofKamarie Holland, according to court officials.

The girl's body was found by police on Dec. 13, 2021 in a vacant home in Phenix City, about 80 miles east of Montgomery, near the Georgia-Alabama state line.

Jurors also found Williams guilty of one count each of: sodomy, sexual abuse of a child less than 12, production of obscene material involving a child, human trafficking, conspiracy to commit human trafficking and abuse of a corpse, a court spokesperson told to USA TODAY.

Last month, Williams pleaded guilty in the case but Alabama law requires a jury to determine if a suspect in a death penalty case is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Circuit Court Judge Judge David Johnson handed down the death sentence on Monday.

And on Tuesday, Alabama Department of Corrections records showed, Williams was being transported to Holman Correctional Facility which houses the state's death row inmates.

'Senseless act of violence':Alabama mother of 4 kidnapped, found dead in car; man charged

Kamarie Holland sold by her mother for $2,500 for one hour of sex

Prior to Kamarie's death, the child's grandmother, Christie Hoskins, had reported her missing from their home in Columbus, Georgia, according to the Montgomery Advertiser, part of the USA TODAY Network.

Trial testimony revealed the Karmarie's mother 'sold' her to Williams for $2,500 so he could sexually abuse the child, WTVM-TV reported.

He didn't want her to have the baby:So he poisoned their newborn's bottle with antifreeze.

Kamarie's mother Kristy Siple charged with human trafficking

Columbus Police Department officers said they found Kamarie’s body in the abandoned home, where Williams previously lived, with signs of sexual abuse and asphyxiation.

Court records show Williams and the child's mother, Kristy Siple, were later indicted on charges in connection to the girl's death. 

Siple was charged with human trafficking.

According to her arrest warrant, Siple agreed “with another person to pay her for having sexual intercourse and sodomy with her minor child."

Siple pleaded guilty last month to one count of human sex trafficking, a court spokesperson said. She faces up to 20 years in prison.

As of Tuesday her sentencing date had not been set.

Victim's father: 'Justice was finally served'

Prior to being convicted, Williams had been suspected in at least one other child abuse case before in Alabama: He was charged with abuse of children in Phenix City in 2009 and acquitted by a jury in 2012.

Following the verdict, WTVM-TV reported Kamarie's father Corey Holland said his daughter would not be forgotten.

“Seeing that justice was finally served I’m deeply grateful,” he told the outlet.

Contributing: Hadley Hitson

Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X @nataliealund.