CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A judge on Monday sentenced Christopher Whitaker to death for the rape, torture and murder 14-year-old Alianna DeFreeze.

Whitaker, 45, was ordered pay the ultimate price for the brutal crimes he carried out against the girl in an abandoned home in Cleveland's Kinsman neighborhood in January 2017.

The circumstances that Whitaker's attorneys presented to convince jurors to spare his life "pale in comparison to the barbarity of the evidence" of what he did to the girl, Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Carolyn Friedland said in imposing the sentence.

The judge also added a 48-year sentence that is separate from his death sentence for his convictions of aggravated burglary, rape, felonious assault, obstruction of justice and gross abuse of a corpse charges.

The same jury that convicted Whitaker last month also recommended his execution. Friedland had the option to impose a life sentence if she reached a different conclusion than the jury.

Update: Cuyahoga County Judge Carolyn Friedland accepted the jury's recommendation and sentenced Whitaker to death. - Watch as Christopher Whitaker is sentenced for the 2017 kidnapping, torture and killing of 14-year-old Alianna DeFreeze. Posted by cleveland.com on Monday, March 26, 2018

Whitaker is the first person condemned to death from Cuyahoga County court since 2016, when Michael Madison, who was convicted of killing three women in East Cleveland, received that fate. He will join 20 other men who have been convicted in Cuyahoga County and are currently on death row.

"My thoughts and prayers go to the family and friends of Alianna DeFreeze," Prosecutor Michael O'Malley said. "The imposition of the death penalty is never an easy decision but given the facts of this horrendous case, it was the right decision."

Monday's hearing was fraught with emotion, as relatives of Alianna faced for the first the man who terrorized their daughter and granddaughter.

Alianna's mother, Donnesha Cooper, sobbed as she told Friedland that Whitaker daughter was a sweet and happy-go-lucky girl who cared about her little brother and wanted to help other people wherever she could.

"He just snuffed out a really bright light in the world because of his own selfishness," Cooper she said.

Alianna's death took a physical toll on her family members. Her stepmother, Watonya DeFreeze, said she developed congestive heart failure after the girl's death. Cooper said she no longer has the drive to go to work or, at times, even leave the house.

Damon DeFreeze, her father, spoke last. His frustration mounted as he told Friedland that he tried to warn Alianna about predators like Whitaker. He turned toward Whitaker, who was flanked by five courtroom security officers.

"Excuse me so I can look at this b---- a-- dude, " DeFreeze said.

Friedland immediately interrupted him and told him to address her. DeFreeze relented that he had said enough and returned to his seat.

Whitaker chose not to make a statement.

Whitaker's trial began on Feb. 1 and brought into a clear and disturbing focus how the seventh-grader, whose mother said still played with baby dolls, spent the torturous final hours of her life.

Whitaker approached Alianna at an RTA bus stop near Kinsman Road and East 93rd Street, where she waited to catch a bus to her school and convinced her to go with him to a vacant house on Fuller Avenue, where he carried out the crimes against her.

He also left behind his DNA, fingerprints and bloody boot prints that investigators matched to Whitaker.

Whitaker gave an unsworn statement during the penalty phase of his trial and apologized to the girl's family. He said he was truly remorseful -- a point that his attorneys reiterated at Monday's sentencing -- and said he told his lawyers not to contest the charges at trial because he didn't want his case to become "a circus."

Those words rang hollow to Friedland, who quoted a statement that Whitaker made to homicide detectives after his arrest in February. Whitaker told the police that he was concerned about news coverage of his arrest and that he was going to be made out to be a monster to his family.

"The remorse he felt was basically for himself," Friedland said.

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