CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) —“She was always a fun person,” said Rod Hughes. “She would bring joy to the party.”

Four years after the murder of his daughter, Hughes said a guilty verdict brings him a step closer to closure.

“It’s pain that’s going to always be there,” said Hughes.

U.S. Army Soldier Brittney Silvers was shot three times and killed at her Fort Campbell apartment on Oct. 14, 2018.

“I was angry when I received that phone call in 2018, and I haven’t, I haven’t cried yet,” said Hughes.

A federal judge found her estranged husband, 33-year-old Victor Silvers, guilty of multiple charges related to the murder. Those charges include first-degree murder, attempted murder, domestic violence resulting in death, violation of a protective order resulting in death, possession of a firearm by a prohibited person and two counts of discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. 

Hughes said he hasn’t seen Victor since before the shooting.

“I think it’s going to happen, all my anger and everything is going to come out when I come to the sentencing, when I finally see him and tell him how I really feel,” said Hughes.

Only five days before her murder, Brittney was granted a domestic violence order of protection, prohibiting her husband from being within 300 feet of her, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.

Under this protection, Victor was also prohibited from having a firearm.

“He was abusing her for years and we didn’t know,” said Hughes. “Me personally as a father, I wish I would have known.”

His sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 22, 2023, before a U.S. District Court Judge for the Western District of Kentucky. He faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison, no parole.

“I wanted the death penalty,” said Hughes. “I just want him to know that what he did, he hurt our family.”

Hughes said nothing can bring his daughter back, but he hopes other women see this story and have the courage to leave relationships with domestic violence.

“I tell women, if you’re going through it, speak up, talk, tell someone,” said Hughes. “I don’t want no other women to end up like my daughter.”