Alberto Garcia Sentenced to Death

Alberto Garcia has been sentenced to death in the murder of five-year-old Ja’Naya Thompson. This sentencing was handed down two and a half years after the heart wrenching discovery of her body in Gulfport.
News 25 was in the courtroom for today’s emotion-filled sentencing.
Emotions ran high in the courtroom Wednesday as Judge Lisa Dodson recounted the details of the gruesome murder of five-year-old Ja’Naya Thompson, earning Alberto Garcia a death sentence that was handed down in the final day of sentencing hearing in the rape and killing of Ja’Naya Thompson.
This was somewhat a relief for family and friends who have waited two years for justice to be served. Ja’Naya’s cousin, Angela Hinton, said, “We’re able to close a chapter and move on.”
This was also the end of a long journey for Harrison County District Attorney Joel Smith. “This was an incredibly emotional two years for this family. The strength and courage they have shown in the process is beyond anything I could comprehend.”
Alberto Garcia showed no visible emotion upon learning his fate, but there was an outpouring of emotion and release among others in the courtroom, including Gulfport Police Chief Leonard Papania, describing Garcia as pure evil for the torture he inflicted on the young girl and memories even the toughest in uniform will never forget. “From the moment it started to unfold, it got somewhere we’re not supposed to let cases go with us. It got in my heart as it did with everybody that you saw working in there today, with our prosecutors, our detectives. It’s just something I wanted to follow all the way through.”
Both the chief and the district attorney praised Ja’Naya’s family for their patience and strength as this case moved through the justice system and at its conclusion, an admirable display of courage and thanks from those who suffered most. “We are very grateful for the community. They supported us through this whole trial and the police officers and the attorneys and things like that, we’re just so grateful,” said Hinton.