As sentencing approached, Jacqueline Boone said, she dreaded and struggled to write a statement that adequately captured the anguish, anger and void that a murderer creates in a family.

On Sept. 12, 2020, Dandre Woods-Bethel told the mother of his child and their 3-year-old son to go down into the basement, Baltimore Police reported.

Next, Woods-Bethel left his house on Clifton Park Terrace, opened fire on a group of people hanging out on the porch of a nearby home and then called 911 to surrender.

Woods-Bethel murdered Boone’s niece, Julie Rice, 46. He also killed Michelle Green, 23, the daughter of Rice’s fiancée, Lakia Jackson.

Family members then had to relive the details of the killings in June, in Baltimore Circuit Court, where a judge found Woods-Bethel guilty of two counts of first-degree murder and related crimes.

“Because of my faith, I have to find a way to forgive the defendant,” Boone said on Monday at sentencing in the Elijah E. Cummings Courthouse, “but I am not at that place yet.”

“I have found some relief for what has happened to Julie and Michelle because the defendant was finally held accountable for these terrible crimes,” she added.

Boone said her loved ones could only pray that Woods-Bethel is never able to get out of prison and potentially cause another family such great suffering.

Circuit Judge Paul E. Alpert said he struggled to come up with the appropriate sentence for Woods-Bethel, 29, of Belair-Edison, who doctors determined had been experiencing drug-induced delusions.

Alpert later ordered Woods-Bethel to serve two consecutive life sentences, plus 28 years in prison.

“My only prayer and hope is these delusions you have can be wiped out,” Alpert said. “My condolences go out to the families.”

In a statement, Baltimore State’s Attorney Ivan Bates commended his office’s Homicide Division for “seeing this challenging case through and ultimately securing justice.”

Rice grew up in Baltimore and was caring and loving, Boone said. She also maintained a zest for life.

Though Rice struggled a bit as a teen, she managed to build a life for herself and her daughter, Frenchie.

Meanwhile, Green graduated in 2014 from Lindenwold High School in New Jersey and later studied at Empire Beauty School and the Harris School of Business, according to her obituary. She was waiting to take exams to become a dental hygienist.

The obituary stated that she loved life and possessed a passion for anything beautiful, including clothes, hair and makeup.

Stating that it was important to ensure that Woods-Bethel could never harm anyone else, Assistant State’s Attorney Victoria Yeager implored the judge to hand down three consecutive life sentences.

Though Woods-Bethel’s mental health issues might explain why he committed the murders, Yeager said, they do not change the fact that he opened fire on five people who were enjoying a night in Baltimore on the porch.

When Woods-Bethel was shooting, his gun jammed, Yeager said. He then retrieved another weapon — and resumed firing.

Before investigators started to interrogate him, Woods-Bethel stated, “I should have used hollow points” and remarked, “I hope I didn’t hit no babies.” Detectives then read him his Miranda warnings, after which he asked, “How many caskets?” prosecutors reported.

“These individuals were complete strangers to Mr. Woods-Bethel,” Yeager said. “He is a threat to society.”

His attorney, Assistant Public Defender Maureen O’Leary, asked the judge to impose only one life sentence and recommend that he remain in the Patuxent Institution to receive treatment.

O’Leary said her client is “deeply mentally ill” and was “delusional at the time.” He’s since received a new diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder.

“He is still in his delusion that he was protecting his family,” O’Leary said. “He can only think what he can think.”

Woods-Bethel repeatedly stated that he believed that he had been protecting his family.

“I’m sorry. But I can’t change what I did,” Woods-Bethel said. “I wasn’t in my right state of mind.”

He asked the judge to impose a sentence that would allow him to one day get out of prison.

At the same time, Woods-Bethel said, he understood if that did not happen.