Verdict is relief for victims' families

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - Riccardo McCray's guilty verdict was a welcome relief for family members who lost loved ones in the City Grill shooting spree.

News 4 spoke with some of them just minutes after the conviction was handed down.

Willie McCaa's aunt Rita McCaa said, "It was like such a big relief, Oh My God, I said 'Thank you Jesus.'"

For families shattered by the City Grill shootings, a guilty verdict brought an end to a difficult seven and a half months.

Loved ones packed the courtroom for much of the trial, especially for closing arguments and the announcement that Riccardo McCray had been convicted.

Mother of a victim, Dorothy Wilhite said, "It was like a weight was lifted up. I've been so down the last seven months without my child. But now, it feels like, I got a new spirit, and I know, by the hands of God."

A victim's relative, Katrina Jones said, " It was kinda hard to see, it was sad to see, it was sad to see that something went on in this young guy's mind that made him do the things that he did, I feel very bad for him."

District Attorney Frank Sedita acknowledged the families when they spoke to reporters after the verdict.

Sedita said, "When those cameras are off and family members come up to us and they thank us for what we did, there's no other feeling like that as a prosecutor."

  >>  Watch the second video included to see more from victims' family members