GALVESTON — James Elmore Jr. was sentenced Thursday, Sept. 3, to 20 years in prison and fined $10,000 following his manslaughter conviction in Laura Miller’s death.

Jurors deliberated for about 30 minutes before deciding his punishment. The 20-year prison sentence was the maximum for the manslaughter charge.

During the sentencing hearing, police detectives testified about more than 40 images of child sexual abuse material recovered from Elmore’s phone. Detectives said some of the material had been obtained as recently as this year.

Karey Dotson, a former neighbor of Elmore, returned to the witness stand and described an alleged attempt by Elmore and Clyde Hedrick to kidnap her and a friend when she was 13.

Dotson testified that she and her friend broke free and fled into the woods, where they remained until their family found them.

After the sentencing, Laura’s father, Tim Miller, told KGTX 7 and other news outlets that the outcome brought him a sense of peace. But he said that peace was brief as questions remained about what happened to his daughter the night of her death.

Members of Heidi Fye Villareal’s family also attended the sentencing. Her older sister said she felt able to move forward with her life, knowing Heidi would have been happy that Elmore was behind bars.