PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — A Portsmouth man convicted of the stabbing death of two people in 2012 will spend several decades behind bars.

A jury convicted Winston Black in January of first- and second-degree murder in connection to a gruesome murder case in the Port Norfolk area of the city.

The Portsmouth Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office said Black stabbed David Gough 24 times, put his body in an SUV, and set it on fire. Black then stabbed Ann Gilkerson 123 times.

The Commonwealth said Black was overheard saying Gilkerson needed to be taken care of because she knew where he was when he killed Gough.

Jurors recommended Black spend 70 years behind bars — 40 for the killing of Gilkerson, and 30 for Gough’s murder. A Portsmouth judge on Monday affirmed this, officially handing down a sentence for Black.

Gough’s sister, Teresa Bowers, says the sentencing won’t bring back her brother, but it does bring some closure.  She said, “It’s nice to know that this one person who was a part of this crime, the person that actually committed the act is now in jail and will be for 70 years, we hope.  You can never bring these two humans back, but I think he got what the jury felt like he deserved and the judge upheld that sentence so we are thankful for that.”

Black’s attorney, Dianne Ringer, said, “They had a lot of horrible photographs, forensic evidence, none of it directly linking the crimes to our client except for the testimony of two witnesses who had come in under the umbrella of what we thought were very generous plea agreements.”

Ringer said it’s not a question of what happened, but who did it. “There was no physical evidence to corroborate that Mr. Black was the perpetrator of these offenses,” Ringer said.

The defense plans to appeal.

Black is facing a third murder charge for the November 2011 death of  Samuel L. Martin. A jury trial is set to get underway in that case April 30.