'Does her voice haunt him?': 25 years in prison for Trent Butt

Family of Quinn Butt delivered emotional victim impact statements at Supreme Court in St. John's Tuesday morning, while her father, Trent Butt, was given the mandatory 25-year sentence for first-degree murder.

Butt was found guilty in March of the first-degree murder of five-year-old Quinn.

Justice Donald Burrage handed down the mandatory life sentence, as well as three years for arson, to be served concurrently.

"I for one do not accept your apology," Burrage told Butt, after he read a statement to the court.

Quinn Butt was found dead in her father's home in Carbonear on April 24, 2016, almost three years to the day of Tuesday's sentencing hearing.

In Butt's statement to the court, he said he wanted someone to advocate for him, and Quinn was the epitome of "daddy's girl."

Earlier Tuesday morning, his estranged wife Andrea Gosse, Quinn's mother, delivered an emotional victim impact statement.

"Does he miss her voice? Does her voice haunt him?" read Gosse.

"I hope this is the last time I ever see his smug face."

Because of the first-degree murder conviction, Butt will serve a mandatory 25-year life sentence, without a chance for parole.

He's also pleaded guilty to arson for the fire at his home that coincided with his daughter's death.

'Time to move on'

After the sentencing, Gosse told reporters she was "satisfied" with the result, but like the judge did, she rejected Butt's apology.

"I think he tried to do a little pity party for himself at the end ... I'm done with him," she told reporters.

Gosse said the sentencing brings the legal proceedings to a close, but she constantly wonders about Quinn, including details like "how much she would have grown, or what her hair would have been like."

"It's been a long few years and I think as a family, and friends, [we're] going to start to try and move on today, and work for change for the better for Quinn and for other children," Gosse said.

"We've got a lot of healing to do."

The two-week trial was an emotional one, and included testimony from Gosse as well as the first responders who were on scene at the home where the girl's body was found.

When the jury delivered the guilty verdict, the courtroom erupted with emotion, including tears and gasps.

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