Bryan Kohberger sentencing: Idaho college student killer sentenced to life in prison

Maddie Mogen's dad, Ben Mogen, was choked up in court as he said, "Maddie was my only child. ... I thought we would have the rest of our lives together to be together and know each other, and I really took her for granted."

"Karen and Scottie did such a great job raising her after Karen and I split up, and I'm so thankful for Scottie and the role he played in her life when I wasn't able to," he said, recalling his battle with addiction. "But we got to spend a lot of great times together, Maddie and I. She was my favorite person to go to a concert with."

Mogen read in court the last thing Maddie wrote to him -- a Father's Day card: "I hope you have the best day, I can't wait 'til we can hang out again soon. ... I love the birthday card you sent me, by the way. ... I hope you're doing well. I'm proud of how far you've come. Thank you for always encouraging me to do my best. Love you lots and lots."

"I'm so glad I still have it," he said of the card.

Maddie Mogen's grandmother Kim Cheeley said in court that, after her murder, the "foundation fell out of our world."

"Initially the fear was truly debilitating," she said, and after Bryan Kohberger's arrest, her family has lived "with the effects of traumatic grief."

Cheeley said she's experienced depression and anxiety and has tried to cope with grief classes and EMDR therapy.

She said she's grateful her own mother died several months before Mogen was killed so she did not live through "the horror."

The family of Kaylee Goncalves was initially outspoken in their opposition to the plea deal that took the death penalty off the table.

"Society needs to be protected against this evil," Laramie said.

But Mogens' stepfather declined to address Kohberger directly.

"We will not waste the words. Nor will we fall into hatred and bitterness. Evil has many faces, and we now know this, but evil does not deserve our time and attention. We are done being victims. We are taking back our lives," he said, before thanking the judge.

Scott Laramie, victim Maddie Mogen's stepdad, read a statement on behalf of himself and Karen Laramie, Mogen's mom, as Bryan Kohberger, wearing orange jail clothing, looked on.

"Karen and I are ordinary people, but we lived extraordinary lives because we had Maddie. Maddie was taken senselessly and brutally in a sudden act of evil," Laramie said.

"Since Maddie's loss, there's emptiness in our hearts, home and family -- an endless void," he said.

Laramie said Mogen's mom suffered from anxiety and depression after her daughter's death, unsure how to go on.