ST. LOUIS, Mo. (First Alert 4) - Tears were shed in a packed St. Louis County courtroom Monday as family members of Marquisha Williams read impact statements after her ex-boyfriend pleaded guilty to her murder.

Williams was a 29-year-old mother of four living in St. Louis County.

Trenton Ivy, 33, her ex-boyfriend, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, tampering with a motor vehicle and two counts of tampering with evidence on Monday.

He was sentenced to serve 30 years in prison for the charge of second-degree murder and four years each for the remaining three charges, for a total of 42 years.

The plea comes almost three years after Ivy and Williams were reported missing by Williams' mother in late 2023, fearing for Williams' safety.

Prior to the plea hearing, Ivy was facing charges of first-degree murder, abandonment of a corpse and two counts of tampering with evidence.

Victim impact statements read before sentencing

 I lived through a nightmare,  Norvette Chavis, Williams' mother, told the judge prior to Ivy's sentencing. Chavis recounted having to search for days for her missing daughter in the December cold.

Members of Williams' family who packed the court cried as Chavis spoke about how beautiful her daughter was, and how Williams' four children are now without their mother.

 She deserved to see these children grow up,  Chavis said.

Chavis said the 42-year sentence that prosecutors and Ivy's defense attorney had agreed upon for the plea deal was not enough.

 A prison sentence has an end date, but our pain does not,  Chavis said.

She went on to say she and her family had been  sentenced to a lifetime of grief. 

 You may have taken my daughter's life,  Chavis said at the end of her statement,  but you will never take her love. 

Williams' cousin, Cori Curry, had a letter she wrote read to the court.

 I never imagined I would have to stand in a courtroom and speak about Marquisha in the past tense,  the letter read in part.  Losing someone you love is painful under any circumstances. Losing her to violence has left a grief that is difficult to put into words and impossib

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