HARRIS COUNTY, Texas – A former La Porte man will spend the rest of his life behind bars for the cold-case double murder of two of his former schoolmates.
John Anthony Vela, 39, was sentenced to life in prison by a Harris County judge Thursday for the 2002 murders of Kevin Collins and Melissa Williams.
"Closure? Yes," said Collins' sister, Coleda Washington. "The person who did this heinous crime is finally getting punished."
Prosecutors said Collins and Williams were killed inside their mobile home in La Porte.
They said Vela broke in to steal electronics for drug money, was surprised that Collins and Williams were home, and stabbed them multiple times.
Inside the trailer, in a back room, was the couple's daughter, MaryJayne.
She is now 16 -- she was 2 years old at the time of the killings.
"He didn't get to watch me grow up. My mom or my dad," she said. "But it's justice for me."
Vela was a prime suspect from the beginning, but it took 12 years for authorities to connect him with DNA to the murders.
They arrested him in 2014 in the south Texas town of Falfurrias, where Vela had relocated years ago.
The family said it was a verdict that was a long time coming -- but welcomed nonetheless.
"Justice has been served for Melissa and Kevin," said Williams' mother, Jayne. "It doesn't bring them back, but we know in spirit they're right here with us."
Vela knew Collins and Williams because he went to high school with them in La Porte.
Vela has a lengthy criminal record dating back to 1999 that includes convictions for assault, theft, and evading arrest.