A New Jersey man convicted in the 2009 killing of a retired Miami Police captain was sentenced to life in prison Friday.
Rafael Toirac-Aguilera, 39, was found guilty in March in the execution-style murder of Capt. Robert Yee on July 10, 2009, at the Hurricane Cove Marina.
His sentence carries with it no possibility of parole.
Yee's widow, daughter and grandchildren attended Friday's sentencing. The family appeared upset but said they were relieved that Toirac-Aguilera finally faced justice.
"Not only did he brutally murder my father but he has caused so much pain," daughter Debbie Guzman said.
"Justice has been done and we're at peace, a little bit at peace right now but it's very emotional, still very raw," widow Maricel Yee said.
An arrest warrant said Toirac-Aguilera became a suspect when his DNA and a fingerprint were recovered from an orange juice bottle left at the scene of the murder. Police believe the orange juice bottle was used as a makeshift silencer on the weapon that killed Yee.
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Toirac-Aguilera's girlfriend told police the two had driven from New Jersey to Miami to visit friends in a silver Toyota Corolla in July 2009, and that Toirac-Aguilera was gone for hours on the day of the Yee murder.
When detectives questioned Toirac-Aguilera about where he was on July 10, he said he was in New Jersey working at a body shop.
Retired after 25 years on the force, Yee, 61, was working as a security guard at the Marina on North River Drive.
He was found with multiple gunshot wounds to the back of his head and died a short time later at Jackson Memorial Hospital.
"We judged him in man's law, but he's still got another judgment day coming to him and I really hope there's a special place in hell for him," Miami Police Chief Rodolfo Llanes said of Toirac-Aguilera.
