Live updates: Long Island serial killer Rex Heuermann sentencing - CNN

Long Island serial killer Rex Heuermann was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison without parole, two months after pleading guilty to murdering seven women – and admitting to killing an eighth – over a 17-year period.

Family members of most of the victims made emotional statements in court, sometimes even addressing Heuermann himself, who did not have much reaction.

Here’s a recap of what happened at the hearing:

The sentence: The judge delivered sentences of life in prison without the possibility of parole for three counts of first-degree murder and 25 years to life for each of the four other counts – second-degree murder – all to run consecutively. This is as prosecutors requested.

What Heuermann said: “There are no words I can say. I am responsible for all that was said in this room today. The words I would say have no meaning,” he said. Judge Timothy Mazzei told Heuermann, “You’re a disgusting and small man, if you’re a man at all. You’re a coward.”

What prosecutors said: Heuermann is a “ remorseless and sadistic serial killer who only cares about himself,” Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said. Tierney pointed to a planning document where, prosecutors said, Heuermann “methodically blueprinted” how to select, kill and dispose of his victims.

Here is what some of the victims’ families said:

Liliana Waterman said she was only 3 years old when her mother, Megan Waterman, was officially reported missing. “The damage he caused extends far beyond the day he committed this crime,” she said.

Elizabeth Meserve, Waterman’s aunt, used her impact statement to advocate for strengthened protections for victims and their loved ones. She said Heuermann “was not a fearsome predator, but rather a cowardly opportunist.”

Amanda Funderburg described her sister Melissa Barthelemy as “a fighter for love, for family, for a better life.” She snapped at Heuermann: “You can look at me while I’m talking.” Heuermann, who had largely not been making eye contact with the speakers, looked over briefly.

Jessica Taylor’s cousins vowed to stand strong for the woman they said “was pure sunshine” and a “spunky, smart, beautiful friend.” Jasmine Robinson told Heuermann: “You fill me with so much repugnance it’s suffocating, but I can’t let you overtake me and I will stand strong for my cousin.”

Melissa Cann said her sister Maureen Brainard-Barnes was the victim of “ calculated, unimaginable evil.” She told the court she has lived with survivor’s guilt for more than a decade and said the “pain is unbearable.” But she came to understand “the guilt is not mine to carry, and it never was.”

Dyllan Haggett was only 1 year old when Heuermann murdered his mother, Brainard-Barnes. “I never had her when I needed her,” he said. “She never got to see who I have become.”

“While justice cannot bring (the victims) back, it ensures they are no longer forgotten and brings our families peace knowing the person responsible for our irreversible pain can never harm anyone else,” Sandra Costilla ’s sister Ruth Ramos said in a statement read by the district attorney.

CNN’s Holly Yan, Rebekah Riess and Eric Levenson contributed reporting to this post, which has been updated with the latest information.

Correction: An earlier version of the photo caption in this post incorrectly spelled Violet Swager’s last name.