VIDALIA — A Natchez man convicted of killing a Monterey man was sentenced Wednesday to life without the possibility of parole, probation or suspension.

George Byrd, 28, 422 Dumas Drive, Apt. B, was found guilty in March in connection to the 2014 stabbing death of 63-year-old John Perritt.

Byrd, who showed virtually no emotion during his March trial, threw back his head in apparent anger as Judge Kathy Johnson delivered the life sentence.

“He showed no remorse, just aggravation,” said Perritt’s sister Adalene Duncan. “He will have to live and think about what he has done every day in jail. He did not have to kill my brother.”

Duncan said she and the rest of the family appreciated the work the Concordia Parish Sheriff’s Office investigators did as well as the case Seventh Judicial District Attorney Brad Burget argued during the trial.

“I feel like I can go and get some rest now,” she said. “I can finally have some peace.”

Byrd’s attorney Darrell Hickman of Alexandria, La., filed a motion to set aside the verdict but was overruled by Judge Johnson.

“I was disappointed two months ago with the verdict — now I am just dealing with reality,” Hickman said. “The evidence in the trial was not enough to convict my client. The witnesses were not reliable.”

Hickman said he planned to file an appeal immediately in the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.

Byrd was convicted of second-degree murder for stabbing Perritt nine times with a knife at the victim’s Monterey trailer. Days after the homicide, Perritt’s body was found wrapped in blankets on Sept. 22, 2014, by his nephew, who called the Concordia Parish Sheriff’s Office.

The four-day trial went over the evidence collected during the nine-month investigation against Byrd, who was charged in June 2015.

The trial ended with three key witnesses identified by head detective Phillip Webber during the investigation.

The first witness connected Byrd, who didn’t have a phone, to Perritt through call records of the phone owned by the witness’ mother. The calls were made on Sept. 18. 2014, the last night the victim was known to be alive. The witness alleged Perritt paid Byrd to have sex with him.

Webber also presented two witnesses who he said were able to paint a remarkable picture of the crime scene based off of conversations they allegedly had with Byrd.

The witnesses were able to place Perritt’s abandoned car, a black 2014 Ford Fusion, at Reeves and Reynolds Lumber Co., where it was located by law enforcement. They independently said Perritt had been stabbed to death, was wrapped in blankets, rugs and belts, the murder happened in Louisiana near a body of water, and Byrd and another man went back to clean up afterward.

Webber said none of this information related to the homicide had been made public.

Hickman’s argument during the trial included the lack of physical evidence, such as fingerprints or DNA, connecting Byrd to the crime scene or the car. Additionally, the key witnesses, one of them in legal trouble, had something to gain by cooperating with law enforcement, Hickman said.

However, Webber said he didn’t offer the witness any deals, as he doesn’t have the power to do that — that would be up to the district attorney.

Burget argued physical evidence at the crime scene didn’t exist because Byrd went and cleaned up after the crime was committed.

The district attorney said the sheriff’s office did an outstanding job with the investigation.

“We presented the case and the jury made the decision that George Byrd killed Mr. Perritt and found him guilty of second-degree murder,” Burget said Wednesday. “The Perritt family now has closure in this unfortunate matter and with sentencing today, justice has been served.”