By Shayna Jacobs
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN SUPREME COURT — It has been more than 12 years since a 25-year-old graduate student was killed in a SoHo hit-and-run, still wearing a gown and pearls hours after her best friend's wedding.
With the Friday sentencing of Jose Heras, who fled the country while out on bail in 1997, Kristen Nemec's family finally received a measure of closure.
"The hole in our family was that much deeper and sadder over the past dozen years because each time we were reminded of Kristen’s absence, we were further slapped with the reality of her killer’s freedom," her father, Richard Nemec, said at the sentencing.
Heras pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter and bail-jumping on Feb. 1.
While intoxicated on May 25, 2007, he struck Nemec at the intersection of West Houston and Wooster Street, killing her and then fleeing the scene.
Heras was sentenced to 3.5 to seven years in prison. When offered the chance to speak, he tearfully apologized to his victim's family.
"I am just sorry because I left a big hole in their lives, as well as my family's," Heras said. "I feel for them. I'm here today to be responsible for my actions."
Nemec's heartbroken father said his daughter looked "radiant and endlessly happy" in wedding photographs taken shortly before her death.
"Almost 13 years after the crime, we still seek a sense of justice," he said. "Remember that for us there is only one main character to this horrific drama that ends today, and she is not here."
Other family members and friends were present at the sentencing, including the victim’s best friend, Laura Ries, whose wedding night ended with the death of a friend and bridesmaid.
"You have this supposedly joyous day, but I also have the anniversary of my best friend being killed," said Ries said after the sentencing.
