GALVESTON, Texas -- Jurors reached a guilty verdict Friday in the trial of a man accused of killing his 2-year-old stepdaughter, KPRC Local 2 reported.

Jurors found Royce Clyde Zeigler II, 26, guilty of capital murder in the death of Riley Ann Sawyers after five hours of deliberation and eight days of testimony.

Her unidentified body was nicknamed "Baby Grace" when found in a plastic container in Galveston Bay in 2007. She was beaten to death on July 25, 2007.

Zeigler showed little emotion when the verdict was read. He was automatically sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Riley Ann's relatives wept when the heard the word "guilty" and said they are glad the ordeal is over for Riley Ann's sake.

"It never had to happen. I'm just glad it's over. I'm glad it's over and I'm glad we got the verdict we did," said Sheryl Sawyers, Riley Ann's grandmother.

Closing arguments were held Friday morning.

First up was prosecutor Kayla Allen. She told jurors that Zeigler had a motive for killing Riley Ann. Once she was gone, his life got better, Allen said.

Allen said the evidence showed that Zeigler was unhappy with the girl's boisterous behavior and financial strains after marrying her mother, Kimberly Trenor. Allen said Zeigler and Trenor beat the toddler to death, then together cleaned up the crime scene and disposed of the body.

Thirty days later, Trenor was pregnant with Zeigler's child and they were looking forward to raising a new family.

Defense attorney Dena Fisher followed, admitting Zeigler is not innocent, but said he's not guilty of murder.

She said the state has no direct evidence linking Zeigler to the killing. She reminded jurors of the witnesses who described him as a gentle and caring stepfather.

"If you've been a good person your whole life, shouldn't that count for something when you're trying to decide if that guy killed a 2-year-old baby?” Fisher said.

Trenor is already serving a life sentence for capital murder in her daughter's death.