Mother of Jacksonville murder victim talks about meeting face to face with daughter's killer

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Darlene Farah came face to face with her daughter’s killer in a private meeting Wednesday that lasted an hour and ended in prayer.

Nearly two weeks after James Rhodes was convicted, Farah and her two children got the chance to speak with him for the first time.

It’s a meeting Farah has been pushing for for nearly four years -- ever since her daughter, Shelby, was murdered in 2013.

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Since then, Farah has become a vocal advocate against the death penalty, which ultimately was taken off the table in Rhodes’ case.

She said Wednesday’s meeting brought her family some closure.

“It was hard, it was hard being in there,” Farah said. “He apologized to all of us. Before he apologized, he said, 'I know it's not going to bring her back.'”

On March 2, Rhodes was sentenced to life in prison for killing 20-year-old Shelby while she worked as a clerk in a Metro PCS store.

“I wanted him to realize that God has a purpose for him,” Farah said.

Farah said Rhodes revealed why he pulled the trigger, saying he claimed to have followed bad information.

“She gave you the money. You could've just walked out. And he said he wished he never would've listened to the other person,” Farah said.

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Farah said they also talked about other people who may have been involved in her daughter’s murder, but she wouldn’t go into details about what Rhodes said.

She said the meeting had a deeper purpose.

“He agreed to do a video where I could take it around, because I want to get with the schools,” Farah said.

Farah hopes to keep other young men from going down the same criminal path and she hopes Rhodes gets his GED while he’s in prison.

She also said she’s not done advocating against the death penalty.

Farah agreed to speak with Action News Jax because she wants people to see that if the mother of a murder victim can forgive, others can too.

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