ST. CHARLES COUNTY, Mo. — For the first time since a St. Charles man was sentenced to death for murder, a father is speaking out about the sentence.
On Thursday, Richard Darren Emery learned his fate after killing his girlfriend, her two children and her mother in 2018.
Rick Moeckel lost his daughter Kate Kasten and his grandchildren, Zoe and Jonathan and his ex-wife, Jane Moeckel.
"They were happy, they loved life," Moeckel says. "Kate was my only daughter."
Moeckel tells 5 On Your Side, he spoke to his daughter every single day and would pick up the kids from the school bus.
He talks about the hardship his family faced in 2017.
Kasten's husband passed away from cancer.
She then met Richard Darren Emery, the two started dating and Emery moved in.
Moeckel said he never heard of any fights.
He saw his daughter just a few days before things took a turn for the absolute worst.
"Dec. 23 we had dinner at their house, everything was fine. Everyone was happy," he shares.
However, on Dec. 29, 2018, Emery shot and killed Kasten, her two children and her mother.
"He was on a mission," he adds.
Moeckel went from grief to the gavel, searching for justice.
The trial began in September with the death penalty on the line and Moeckel was there every single day.
Moeckel stepped out when the crime scene photos and videos were shown.
But he did hear the 9-1-1 phone call.
In that call, you can hear gunshots go off, as Zoe asked Emery why he was doing this.
"If there ever is a reason to put someone to death this is the reason - to cold-heartedly kill four people and two kids, one of them talking to you and shooting as they are talking, that’s pretty cold," Moeckel adds.
Throughout the trial, the defense tried to use Emery's borderline personality disorder as a reason for his actions.
However, Moeckel believes these were excuses.
"They tried to come up with reasons that he had no control. I believe every step of the way he had control over what he was doing," he shares.
A jury eventually recommended the death penalty and on Thursday, the judge followed their lead and gave Emery the death penalty.
Moeckel says, "We got the results that we prayed for. It brought a sense of relief that this first part of the journey is over."
He believes justice is coming.
"I think it will be served at the end of the day when we do get him put to death," Moeckel says.
However, nothing can bring back the missed out memories.
"Watch them get married and have kids of their own, that's gone. We'll never get that back and we'll never experience that," he admits.
But he'll always cling to the moments they captured together.
The four-year anniversary is coming up and he says with close family and friends, they'll celebrate their lives.
As far as the case, the defense has filed a motion to appeal.
That process could take several years.