Sandra McKee sat on the witness stand in Scott County District Court on Friday, facing Christopher Behal, the man who killed her granddaughter, Taylor Escontrias.
McKee was the first family member authorities notified of Escontrias' death after police found the woman dead in the Park View apartment she shared with Behal in March of 2024.
Behal, 31, dressed in an orange Scott County Jail jumpsuit, sat quietly as McKee described the day she learned of her granddaughter's death.
McKee and three other family members gave victim impact statements Friday during Behal's sentencing.
A Scott County jury convicted him of first-degree murder and domestic abuse assault on March 11. Behal and Escontrias' family members spoke before District Judge Henry Latham pronounced sentence, which under Iowa law was an automatic sentence of life without parole.
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McKee said she was grocery shopping on March 14, 2024, when she received a phone call from a number she didn't recognize. She let it go to voicemail to take care of later.
As she got out of her car at her home, McKee said she was approached by three men, one wearing a clerical collar.
"My heart sank," she said.
"The day I met Chris Behal, he came to pick up Taylor at my home to start a new chapter in their lives," McKee said. "As they were leaving, I said to him, 'Promise me you will take care of my granddaughter. She's precious cargo.' He looked me in the eye and said, 'I will.' That promise was broken March 14."
Mckee said she has a "huge hole in my heart that I am trying to fill daily," and tries "to erase the visions of what my Taylor Lee endured."
Escontrias was discovered early on March 14, 2024. She had been beaten with a baseball bat and stabbed repeatedly with a screwdriver and knife.
Police went to the apartment after Behal crashed his car near the Davenport airport. He was intoxicated and asked officers to check on Escontrias, saying he had "pictures in my mind of hitting her with a baseball bat."
Before Escontrias' family spoke, Behal told the court and the family that he did not know what happened the night of Escontrias' death and he said his killing of Escontrias was not premeditated.
"The only thing I really have to say on the matter is whatever happened in this event is being misconstrued in the court process," Behal said. "I understand how it looks to everybody on the outside of this stuff, that it was supposedly premediated and that this was such a vile act. Yes, it was absolutely a terrible thing that happened. I understand that. I'm not saying that it's not whatsoever."
He said that he didn't know what happened that night.
"I'm sorry, I don't (know) and I'm sorry that she's gone," he said. "There's nothing I can do about that."
Curt Rosenberg, Escontrias' stepfather, said that the killing of Escontrias has had a horrible effect on her mother, Lisa Rosenberg.
"My job as a husband is to take care of my wife, but I can't fix it," Rosenberg said. "It's bad. She goes through it every day. I see her hurt and I don't know what to say to her or what to do to make it better. It breaks my heart."
When she spoke, Lisa Rosenberg held up photos of Escontrias' children.
"Taylor will never get to see them again," she told Behal. "I hope you see this every night when you go to sleep at night. I hope it eats at your brain. I cannot describe the numbness, the sadness, the pain and anger you have caused. The anger I feel towards you from the time I wake up until the time I fall asleep.
"You have taken my baby girl from me in such a horrific way, and it doesn't make any sense, and it never will," she said. "You make me sick. This pain will never go away it's part of my life now. You're going to a place where you should be for the rest of your life. I hope you see my baby's girl's face every day. I hope you reap what you sew. You're a cold-blooded murderer."
Escontrias' older sister, Ashley McKee, said that the pain of losing her sister is a pain she carries every day.
"Her life was cut short by someone who claimed to love her," she said. "There's an ache that doesn't go away.
"She was only 31 years old young, vibrant, full of life and hope," Ashley McKee said. "She had dreams she didn't get to fulfill. She had people she didn't get to say goodbye to. And most painfully her final moments were likely filled with fear inflicted by someone she trusted. That's something that keeps me awake at night.
"This isn't just a crime against my sister, it was a crime against everyone who loved her," she said.
After the victim impact statements, Latham said he had no discretion by law but to sentence Behan to life in prison without the possibility of parole. He added a consecutive sentence of two years for the domestic abuse assault conviction.
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