Judge Luis M. Matos had found Soares guilty of first-degree murder in late January, rejecting the 37-year-old’s plea of not guilty by reason of insanity.
On Friday, Matos imposed the life sentence after hearing from the family of the man Soares killed, John “Jack” Fay, a retired postal worker.
Fay’s niece, Melanie DuPont, 49, of Smithfield, read statements to the court on behalf of Fay’s brother, Dr. Gerald Fay, and his daughter, Meaghan Fay.
Gerald Fay, of Olympia, Washington, referred to his slain older brother as the patriarch of the family.
The loss has left them with a “hole in our hearts which cannot be filled …,” Fay said.
