The Bermudian mother of a girl gunned down in cold blood believes the killer got what she deserved.

However Valeria Vermont said she had sympathy for the murderer's mother and said both families had lost children.

Mrs. Vermont was speaking after 16-year-old Jennifer Tombs was jailed for life after being found guilty of the brutal slaying of her daughter Latayna Lavallais, 23.

"We got justice. But it is a no-win situation because both families have lost,'' she said.

Last Friday Tombs was found guilty by a Denver District Court jury of the first-degree murder of Ms Lavallais who was shot six times in the head.

Judge Warren Martin immediately imposed a mandatory life sentence and Tombs was led from the court in tears as Ms Lavallais' family stood and applauded the sentence.

Mrs. Vermont, nee Cox, left the Island more than 20 years ago after marrying a US servicemen stationed on the Island, Ms Lavallais' father.

She was widowed several years ago and remarried Denver-based engineer Errol Vermont.

Mrs. Vermont's family were friends with the Tombs' and it was the Rev. Madlyn Tombs who arranged for Ms Lavallais to babysit her daughter.

"We have both lost daughters. My daughter is dead and their daughter has gone to prison for life. I can sympathise with the Tombs because I know what it is like to lose a daughter,'' said Mrs. Vermont.

"I still believe that Jennifer got what she deserved. I am glad the whole thing is over because it has been an extremely difficult time.'' Mrs. Vermont said her daughter had visited Bermuda and was planning to return and work on the Island. She was murdered just a few weeks before she planned to visit.

"Latayna loved Bermuda and she really wanted to live there and work. It's been a long time since I left the Island, but I hope to return one day,'' added Mrs. Vermont, whose father Maurice Williams lives in Bermuda.

Tombs' mother and Ms Lavallais's step-father were both pastors at the First Christian Assembly Church in Montbello, Denver, at the time of the killing.

It was the Rev. Madlyn Tombs who arranged for Ms Lavallais to watch her daughter for the weekend in September last year while she attended a church retreat.

Tombs, who regarded Ms Lavallais as a cousin, had violated probation on juvenile charges of aggravated car theft when Lavallais was slain and was on an electronic monitor.

Tombs shot her babysitter six times in the head because she refused to let her go out, prosecutors told the court during the trial last week.

However Tombs said that an unknown intruder killed Lavallais and she discovered the body in the morning when she got up to eat her breakfast.

During the trial the teenager's ex-boyfriend, Joaquin Johnson, testified that he gave Tombs the gun used to kill Ms Lavallais.

He said Tombs told him during a 4 a.m. telephone call that she had killed a woman who burst into her home.

In a videotaped statement to Police, Tombs admitted getting rid of the murder weapon and picking up shell casings.

After the case Deputy District Attorney Henry Cooper said: "It was the most cold blooded murder I've ever heard of in ten years as a prosecutor.

"She shoots her cousin six times in the head and then eats pizza with her friends.''