For Chris and Denise Dill, the loss of their son Daniel to a drunk driver last November hasn't gotten any easier with the passing weeks and months.
The memories -- and the tears -- return daily.
Melissa Ann Hancock (Virginia Beach Sheriff's Office)
"Every day something reminds you," Chris Dill said. "I couldn't tell you how many times the word Dan comes up in a TV show ... every little thing."
Daniel Dill, a 29-year-old information systems technician with the U.S. Coast Guard and a graduate of Kingsway Regional High School in New Jersey, was acting as the designated driver Nov. 4, 2017, as he made his way through Virginia Beach to pick up his wife, Natalie, from a birthday party.
His trip was cut short by a drunken driver who plowed head-on into his car.
After nearly a year of grieving, Daniel Dill's family gathered in a Virginia courtroom on Wednesday to see Melissa Ann Hancock sentenced to prison.
The former reality TV star will serve 16 years behind bars and pay $3,000 in fines, a judge ruled. (The sentence was 21 years, with five of them suspended.)
Hancock, 26, offered her apologies to Dill's family during the hearing, a spokeswoman for the Office of the Commonwealth's Attorney said.
Daniel Carl Dill (Family photo)
She pleaded guilty earlier this year to aggravated involuntary manslaughter and related charges in Dill's death. She admitted consuming between two and four mixed drinks at a nightclub before getting behind the wheel.
Speaking a day before the sentencing as the family prepared to drive from New Jersey to Virginia, Chris Dill talked about the impact of Hancock's actions.
"It's just totally destroyed the entire family," he said, emotion rising in his voice. "He's a clean-cut guy doing the right thing, making the right choices, volunteering to be the designated driver ... it's brutal. I can't wrap my head around it."
Dill's family and friends attended the sentencing, which included victim impact statements offered by his loved ones. Chris Dill said his wife planned to display several of Daniel's baby pictures during her comments.
What does he want Hancock to know?
"Just how angry I am. How furious I am that she had this kind of devastating impact on my family. What gives her the right?"
As for what he would like his late son to know, Chris Dill said, "Just forgive me because I couldn't protect him."
At the crash scene, Hancock smelled of alcohol and had bloodshot, glassy eyes, police stated. Her blood alcohol content was more than twice the legal limit.
Hancock appeared on episodes of the reality TV series Little Women: Atlanta, and had only lived in Virginia Beach for about a month prior to the crash. She worked as a saleswoman with insurance company GEICO.
The sentence handed down Wednesday was significantly higher than what is called for in Virginia's sentencing guidelines, the spokeswoman noted. Those guidelines call for a sentence no greater than seven years and 10 months.
Matt Gray may be reached at mgray@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattGraySJT. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us: nj.com/tips.