A Senegalese man, convicted Thursday of murdering an American woman in her Florence apartment in January, was sentenced to 30 years in prison.
Ashley Olsen, 35, an artist from Summer Haven, Florida, was found dead in her flat in January 2016. An autopsy found that she had been strangled and suffered skull fractures.
Summer Haven is located along A1A between the Fort Matanzas National Monument and Marineland, but Olsen had moved to Italy, where her father lived.
Olsen's aunt and uncle, who live in Jacksonville, described their niece as a free-spirited woman who lived in the moment and rarely met a stranger.
"She loved everybody -- to a fault almost," said Roy Hall, Olsen's uncle.
An Italian news agency said Prosecutor Giovanni Solinas on Monday asked the court to convict and impose Italy's harshest criminal punishment for defendant Cheik Tidiane Diaw -- life in prison.
Diaw was instead sentenced Thursday to 30 years.
Olsen's aunt and uncle said that's not enough, but they have to move forward.
“We’ve done what we can do, sought the justice we can seek,” Roy Hall said. “They penalized him to the fullest extent they can penalize him, and that has to be enough for us.”
Olsen's mother sat through the trial with an Italian translator deciphering what was said.
“I can’t imagine the pain, one of losing a child, much less to sit in a courtroom day in and day out listening to testimony from this monster and the lies that he told,” Jennifer Hall, Olsen's aunt, said.
If Olsen’s mom wants to visit her daughter’s grave, she’ll have to do it in Italy.
“She can’t bring Ashley home. That’s against Italian law,” Jennifer Hall said. “She had to be buried there.”
After Diaw finishes his 30-year sentence, Olsen's body could be taken back to the United States.
Prosecutors said surveillance video along the route showed Diaw and Olsen walking together toward her apartment.
Police arrested Diaw after finding traces of his DNA on a condom and cigarette butt in the apartment. He denied strangling Olsen.
"As far as we know, they met that night. And I don't know the ins and outs, so I don't want to speculate. But as far as what we know and have seen with the videos, I know that it showed them walking home a couple times together, a couple times apart," Roy Hall said.
Though her family is not sure what exactly happened that night, Roy Hall said they do know Olsen didn't deserve to die. He said Olsen's death is just another example of women being victimized, and women should not have to live in fear because of crimes like this.
"It's a shame there has to be a message to young women. It's a shame that the message would be to be guarded, because it would be better if we could all be Ashley. If we could all live our lives and accept everybody at face value," Roy Hall said.
After Olsen's death, friends and fellow expats expressed horror at the slaying of a woman known around Florence for her beagle, Scout, and said they hoped her killer would be found quickly.
"I can't imagine a person who would hurt her. She is a gentle, a kind, a beautiful, friendly, lovely girl, and it's an awful shock," Amy, a friend who only gave her first name, told The Associated Press in Florence. "We've got a great community here of people, and everyone loved her."
Roy Hall said some have expressed concern over Scout, but he said the dog is doing fine, living with Olsen's sister in Virginia.
Jennifer Hall said Olsen's mother plans to remain in Italy until the anniversary of her daughter’s death.