CLAY COUNTY, Fla. – Michael Renard Jackson was sentenced Monday to life in prison without parole for the rape and murder of 25-year-old Andrea Boyer in 2007.
Jackson was convicted in February for the second time of killing Boyer, who was found dead at the Wells veterinary clinic where she worked.
Jackson spent nearly two decades in the justice system to get to this point. The process took so long because Jackson was originally convicted and sentenced to death in 2010.
In his first trial, it took the jurors only 90 minutes to come back with a guilty verdict. But the Florida Supreme Court threw out the verdict after finding Clay County deputies made prejudicial comments on the stand. The pandemic also delayed Jackson’s trial.
After he was found guilty again, a jury declined to recommend the death penalty for Jackson.
On Monday two people close to Boyer spoke about how her murder impacts them more than a decade later. The judge heard from Boyer’s niece, Kayli Latner, and Dr. Michal Harris, who worked with Boyer at the time of her murder.
“I can tell you, 16 years later, I think about her almost every day, and none of us who work with Andrea at Wells Road vet will ever be the same people we were on January 22, 2007,” Harris said.
Latner said Boyer was a second mother to her.
“I won’t be able to hear her say she’s proud of me. She won’t be able to see how I have grown into the woman I am today, and I won’t be able to tell her all my life experiences,” she said. “Her laugh is gone, her smile, her warming presence, all gone and all a blurry memory.
Following Jackson’s sentence being handed down, his attorney spoke out and disagreed.
News4JAX reached out to the state attorney’s office for comment, and it said that if it has a statement, it will release it at a later date.