A man facing a possible death sentence in the notorious killing of a teen girl in Miami over a quarter-century ago was sentenced to life in prison on Friday in a separate kidnapping and rape case.
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Gregory Martin, 56, was given life in prison plus 60 years at a sentencing hearing Friday.
A jury in May had found Martin guilty of attempted murder, kidnapping and sexual battery charges in the case, which dates back to 2009.
Martin is still awaiting trial on murder and sexual battery charges in a high-profile case that dates back more than two decades.
The murder of Cynteria Phillips baffled Miami Police detectives until Martin’s arrest in the other case.
Phillips was just 13 when her body was found near Miami Edison Senior High School in August 2000.
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Investigators determined Phillips, who family members described as a habitual runaway, had been raped and murdered.
After his arrest, police obtained a DNA sample from Martin, which later matched two samples found on Phillips’ body, authorities said.
“Until then,” Miami Police Sgt. Eunice Cooper said in 2011, “he was not even on our radar. He did not even exist for us.”
Martin was charged in the Phillips case in 2011 while he was already behind bars. He has pleaded not guilty.
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If convicted, Martin faces the possibility of the death sentence.