Through her testimony the jury got a glimpse of what Renteria was like as a child.

"He was always a good boy. He obeyed me, he was much of a homebody," said Renteria.

The defense showed the jury pictures of Renteria from the time he was 4 years old to when he graduated high school. Renteria testified that her son taught baptism and catechism classes at Mt. Carmel.

A defense attorney asked Renteria to describe her son's personality before he began probation.

"He was a happy young man. He would come home and greet us. He would ask what plans we had for that afternoon. He was happy," Renteria broke down on the stand.

Judge Mary Anne Bramblett asked for a break at that time. Renteria's son looked at her from the defense table with sadness.

As KFOX has reported, Renteria is getting another sentencing hearing because a state appeals court ruled prosecutors introduced testimony that left jurors with a false impression Renteria did not express remorse for the killing.

Stay tuned to KFOX News at Nine and log on to kfoxtv.com for more on this story.