A judge formally delivered a sentence of death to Jacob Sullivan, the Pennsylvania man who admitted to raping, torturing, and murdering his girlfriend’s daughter Grace Packer in July 2016.
After three days of deliberation following a week of testimony at Sullivan’s sentencing hearing in Bucks County, a jury delivered a verdict of a death sentence.
Judge Diane Gibbons address Sullivan at a formal delivery of the sentence following the verdict announcement.
“You have no soul,” Gibbons told Sullivan, according to the Morning Call. “I have never said that to another human being in my life, and I hope to not say it again, so I expect to say something similar to Sara Packer.”
Packer, Grace’s adoptive mother who was present during every phase of the attack and is believed to have plotted the rape and murder with Sullivan up to a year in advance, is expected to plead guilty and receive a sentence on Friday. Packer testified at Sullivan’s sentencing hearing last week and will reportedly be spared the death penalty as part of the plea agreement.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Gibbons thanked the jury for their service earlier Thursday and recommended counseling, due to the graphic, deeply disturbing images testimony shared with the jurors during the hearing.
“The butchery in this case was beyond my ability to describe,” Gibbons said. “To live through it vicariously through the photos and the tapes and the recordings… must have taken a toll.”
Sullivan was given the opportunity to address the courtroom after his sentence was delivered, but declined.