It's a case 21 News reporter Michelle Nicks has investigated since 2004 and now the man police believe was responsible for the death of a missing teenager is sentenced to prison.

Admitted drug addict David Sharpe of Youngstown is ordered to serve seven-and-a-half years behind bars as part of a plea bargain with the Mahoning County Prosecutor's Office.

Sharpe stood silent as he was sentenced for the reckless homicide of 15-year-old Jimmy Higham. His attorney says Sharpe does feel remorse about what happened. Sharpe pleaded guilty to dismembering the boy's body back in June of 2001 and then disposing of it in dumpsters around the city.

Sharpe's live-in girlfriend at the time Jennifer Snyder had legal custody of the child at the time, a placement recommended by Mahoning County Children's Services.

The child's mother and father along with friends told the court Sharpe's seven-and-a-half year sentence is not justice Jimmy deserves.

Jimmy Higham's aunt Jennifer Snyder is serving four years in prison for helping dispose of the child's body, after coming forward and telling the story to Youngstown Police.