MACON, Ga. — For Jeannie Childs, Thursday's sentencing hearing marked the end of years spent grappling with an unbearable truth about her youngest son.

"I know he's really gone," she said outside the courtroom, her voice breaking. "I can no longer pretend he's at work, hanging out with friends or on a trip. He's gone and not coming back."

The admission came after a Bibb County judge sentenced Eric Head to 20 years in prison for his role in the 2021 death of William Childs on Lake Tobesofkee. While Childs described the outcome as justice served, she acknowledged the complex emotions surrounding the verdict .

"It's not lost on me that the pain that his family must be going through too," she said. "But this is a victory for us."

Inside the courtroom, family and friends of William

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