UPDATE: August 1 at 2:25 p.m.

Eric Johnson was sentenced to 44 years in prison on Tuesday for the 2016 murder of UNT student Sara Mutschlechner. The jury deliberated for over two hours before reaching its decision.

He will be eligible for parole in 22 years.

Johnson was convicted of murder Monday after fatally shooting Mutschlechner in the early morning hours of New Year’s Day, 2016.

“He was on a path to hurt somebody long before that night,” state prosecutor Tony Paul said. “Who takes a gun to a party in Denton for no reason?”

The maximum sentence Johnson could have faced for the murder charge was life in prison.

“We’ll never be the same,” Sara’s mother, Gloria Mutschlechner said. “We’ll never get over this. There’s no elixir [for] our pain.”

July 31 at 3:21 p.m.

Johnson was found guilty Monday afternoon of murdering UNT student Sara Mutschlechner. The jury deliberated for roughly three hours before reaching a verdict.

He and Mustchlechner were stopped next to each other at the intersection of North Elm Street and West University Drive roughly two miles from the UNT campus when Johnson fired two shots. One of them struck Mutschlechner in the back of her head, killing her.

The defense unsuccessfully pushed for a lighter charge of manslaughter, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years.

Johnson’s sentencing will be further deliberated by the jury, and will be announced later this week. He could face up to life in prison for the murder charge.

Featured image: Eric Johnson. File