CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW)- The family of Billy Pace, Jr. spent their week listening to the details of his death. At the conclusion of the jury trial the man who shot and killed Pace was convicted of second degree murder.
Jamie Pace, his mother, Billy Pace, Sr., his father and the Pace family released the following statement to ClarksvilleNow.com:
“On September 19, 2019 Kristopher Michael Martin was convicted of second degree murder in the death of our loved one Billy Joe Pace Jr. aka BJ.
While it wasn’t the first-degree murder (conviction) we were hoping for, we believe that District Attorney Robert Nash and his team did the best job they could do with the evidence they had. We can’t thank Mr. Nash and his team along with Detective Billy Wall enough for the countless hours and hard work they put forth on this case.
As a family we are ecstatic that this individual is not able to walk the streets free. In another sense, it hurts that he will be able to live some kind of decent life once he is released. B.J. is gone and not able to live his life. B.J. isn’t going to be able to see his beautiful children grow. If we want to see B.J. then we have to look at pictures. If we want to hear B.J.’s voice then it’s through videos. If we want to visit B.J. it’s a five-hour trip to a cemetery. Holidays are the hardest because he should be here and yet he is not. He will always live in our hearts and memory. He will always be the son, brother, father, nephew, uncle, cousin and friend that we have always known him to be.
In closing, we would just like to say that we will always fight for justice for B.J. While we do have a measure of justice with this conviction, we still have a long road ahead. The family will make a more complete statement upon completion of the legal process.”