As Shorstein and Plotkin rested their case, Josh's attorney made a surprising move. Nichols didn't call a single witness on the boy's behalf -- a risky strategy that Plotkin said would give Nichols the opportunity to have the final word in front of the jurors.

"Joshua Phillips is not a monster but because of an act that began as an accident and deteriorated through panic that bordered on madness," Nichols said in court in 1999.

He used his closing argument as a chance to argue that Maddie's murder was an accident or manslaughter, hoping that argument would make a lasting impression on jurors as they began deliberating Josh's fate.

Missy said Nichols' strategy was a surprise to her and her husband.

"Richard would say certain things, that he'd do this or do that, and in the 11th hour he wouldn't do them. I would be angry about it, 'I thought you'd do this, and that's not helping Josh,' and then Steve would tell me, 'He's the professional. He's the lawyer, so just stay out of it,'" Missy said.

She said she felt helpless when it came to her son's defense. She said her attorney discouraged them from agreeing to put Josh on the stand to testify.

"I was afraid that if he did take the stand how would he stand up to questioning with Harry Shorstein," Missy said.

In the end, Josh never uttered a word in court about what he said happened the day Maddie was murdered.

It didn't take jurors long before deciding on a guilty verdict and recommending life in prison with no chance of parole for Josh.

"You just can't envision that for your child. I couldn't understand how they could come to that conclusion, but they did. I had to hope that at some point the appellate procedures would give him some hope," Missy said.

At 15 years old, Josh became inmate number J11775 and was ordered to the Marion County Correctional Facility near Ocala to spent the rest of his life behind bars.

Josh has grown from a teenager to an adult behind prison walls. He is now 24 years old.