The courtroom had just heard the words: “Sentenced to death.”
Michael Madison, a convicted sex offender, had just received the ultimate punishment for killing three women and wrapping their bodies in garbage bags. Families of the victims sat shattered, their grief hanging heavy in the room.
But what happened next stunned everyone.
Van Terry, the father of 18-year-old victim Shirellda Terry, stepped up to deliver a victim impact statement. As he turned to face Madison, the killer smirked — a cold, deliberate smile.
That’s when Van Terry snapped.
With years of pain boiling over, he launched himself across the courtroom table, lunging at the man who took his daughter’s life. Chaos erupted. Deputies tackled Terry as Madison and his attorneys dove back in shock.
The outburst was raw. Real. Human.
Terry later said he had no regrets — only heartbreak. “That was my baby. And he smiled in my face.”
Some say it was a courtroom outburst… others say it was a father’s final act of love.
