JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A man charged with first-degree murder in the death of a St. Petersburg teenager pleaded guilty to the slaying Friday morning.
William Popjes, 34, has been in custody since February 2005, when authorities discovered the body of 14-year-old Joshua Corriveau wrapped in sheets and stuffed in a closet in a San Marco home where Popjes and his son, Christopher Popjes, 20, were living.
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The body was found when federal agents were searching for William Popjes in connection with bank fraud charges, but what they discovered shocked the community, and left Joshua's family reeling.
"The grief that my family and I have suffered and struggled through just to put one foot in front of the other has been overwhelming at times," said Joshua's mother, Gillian Joyce.
William Popjes' guilty plea came nearly four months after his son pleaded guilty to his part in the torturing and killing the teen.
As William Popjes quietly told a judge he murdered Joshua, the teen's mother listened and waited for her chance to speak.
Joyce held a teddy bear as she told the judge her son was loved by everyone and that he did not deserve to die the way he did.
"I ache to hold my precious son in my arms and tell him I love him," Joyce, said. "His heart was pure, and his love for others was of an angel sent down but for a brief moment in time."
Joshua had been missing since November 2004 after his mother was allegedly beaten, gagged and tied up by Popjes, her boyfriend, police said.
Joyce said William Popjes and his son lived with her and Joshua in St. Petersburg for more than a year, and that her son left willingly with the two men.
"Joshua loved that man (Popjes) like he was his father," Donna Corriveau told the St. Petersburg Times.
William Popjes showed little emotion during Friday's hearing as Judge Mallory Cooper sealed his future.
"I adjudicate you guilty and sentence you to life in prison without a chance for parole," Cooper said.
Outside the courtroom, Joyce told Channel 4 she was relieved the case was over, but that she will never forget her son.
"The biggest thing is his smile. He loved people. He just had a love for life that nobody could, nobody could even dampen his spirit. He laughed and he loved life," Joyce said.
Previous Stories:
- February 10, 2006: Son Pleads Guilty To Murder, Agrees To Testify Against Father
- March 11, 2005: Report: Son Says Dad Beat Teen To Death
- March 9, 2005: Man Pleads Not Guilty To Beating Death Of Teen
- March 7, 2005: One Of Accused Pleads Not Guilty To Teen's Murder
- February 16, 2005: Father, Son Charged With Murder Of St. Petersburg Teen
- February 15, 2005: Teen's Death Ruled Homicide
- February 13, 2005: Fugitive Asks For Immunity If He Freed Teen
- February 11, 2005: Missing St. Petersburg Teen Found Dead In San Marco Home
- February 10, 2005: Bank Fraud Probe Leads To Missing Teen's Body