The 18-year-old man who killed a 16-year-old girl and injured her boyfriend was sentenced in Denver district court Friday to seven years in the Colorado Youthful Offender System.

Denver District Judge Ericka Englert sentenced 18-year-old Deontre Hollie and suspended a 40-year prison sentence in the murder of 16-year-old Tayanna Manuel in December 2022, according to a press release from the Denver District Attorney’s Office.

“Tayanna is, and was, a beautiful, loving, caring human being and to know her was to love her,” Tayanna’s mother, Pamela Jackson, told Judge Englert during the sentencing hearing.

Denver police responded to a 911 call and found the 16-year-old’s body behind a dumpster at 4927 N. Sedalia St. — an apartment complex in Denver — around 6:30 a.m. on Dec. 26, 2022. She had a gunshot wound to the head and appeared to have been dragged behind the dumpster, according to the arrest affidavit.

Hollie shot the male victim and Tayanna Manuel on the same night, dumping the girl’s body at the apartment complex, prosecutors alleged.

Hollie was arrested on Jan. 21, 2023. He was 17 years old at the time and was charged as an adult. He later plead guilty to second-degree murder and first-degree assault.

“By all accounts, Tayanna was a wonderful young woman with a promising future. Her death was a terrible tragedy, and my heart goes out to all who knew and loved her,” Denver District Attorney Beth McCann said in the press release.