AUSTIN -- A former Pedernales firefighter convicted of murdering his girlfriend in 2011 has been sentenced to 60 years in prison.
On Wednesday the judge gave Joseph Carr 60 years for murdering Veronica Navarro, 22, and another 20 years for tampering with evidence. His sentences will run concurrently.
On Tuesday a jury found him guilty of murdering Navarro and sinking her body in Lake Travis.
Dock workers found her body wrapped in a tent and weighed down with paint cans. Both matched evidence found in Carr's home.
As Judge Cliff Brown, read his decision, Carr s mom wept loudly, covering her face.
Navarro s family and the prosecutors wanted life in prison, however her mom said this is better than nothing.
[I'm] happy that he got what he deserved. My daughter, I know she is watching from up there, said Sanjuana Rodriguez.
Prosecutor Amy Meredith tried to prove to the judge Carr s behavior showed a pattern, with a prior conviction of family assault and two retraining orders from separate women. She said he even hit on a female officer while in jail.
It was actually a note written from him to me asking for photographs, said L. Jones.
Two ex-girlfriends said he proposed after only a few months of dating and became possessive. Then came testimony of prior violence. One of his friends spoke about Carr's relationship with his ex-wife and her dogs.
When she would pay more attention to the dogs, he would get angry and told how he picked up one of them and slammed the dog to the ground, killing that dog, said Michael Lee Jackson.
He said Carr told him he killed all three dogs.
Defense attorney John Carsey asked the judge to consider most of Carr's actions revolved around alcohol, saying the theme is he's an alcoholic.
Navarro's cousin Anakaren Perez said it was difficult listening to other women talk about Carr's behavior.
It was a routine he did, over and over again. And the fact that I saw this routine on my cousin and couldn t stop it, it affected me a lot, said Perez.
Still, she says she forgives Carr and his family, and knows Navarro is in a better place.
Navarro's mother says their family never had a doubt Carr was guilty. Navarro's family said they wanted a life in prison sentence for him. The family says nothing can bring their daughter back, and that Navarro shouldn't have died this way.
