The family of Katina Jones had only one question on Wednesday for her killer: Why?

But a straight answer to that question never came during the emotional sentencing hearing for Larry Nicholas O’Neal, 34, who pleaded guilty in March to suffocating the 31-year-old single mother and stealing her car and credit cards on Nov. 7, 2010.

Judge William R. Savage III gave O’Neal 35 years to serve in prison and another 20 years of suspended time.

“That’s all I want to know, is why,” said George Jones Sr., the victim’s father. “She would have given you her last dime. She would have given you the car — not lent you the car, given you the car — if you needed it. She was that kind of person.”

Jones was found dead in her Crowdy Boulevard apartment that autumn day by her daughter’s father, who came over to check on her because he had been unable to get in touch with her.

According to testimony on Wednesday, Jones offered to pick up O’Neal at the Greyhound bus station in Norfolk when he came to visit. The two high school classmates had recently reconnected on Facebook.

During his visit, the two began a romantic relationship, according to O’Neal’s testimony. It lasted about two weeks before her death.

After he suffocated her as she lay in her bed, O’Neal stole her car and credit cards, drove to Norfolk and used her card to withdraw money from her account at a convenience store. He left the car in Norfolk and bought a bus ticket back to Houston, Texas, where he lived at the time.

O’Neal claimed that her death was an accident that occurred while they were fighting and that she was breathing when he left her house.

“We got into an argument,” he said. “I put my arm around her neck. I wasn’t trying to kill her.”

According to his testimony, his brother called him when the bus was stopped in Roanoke and told him that Jones was dead and that police were looking for him.

Suffolk police had set up a Facebook page called “Catch Katina’s Killer,” which featured pictures of O’Neal and details on the case. It marked the first time Suffolk police dedicated an entire Facebook page to a single crime.

O’Neal said he never got back on the bus, instead spending a week in Roanoke and contemplating suicide. He eventually turned himself in at a police station there.

“I wasn’t trying to kill nobody,” he said. “I’m not a killer. I’m not a violent person at all. It sounds stupid coming out of my mouth, but it was an accident.”

Prosecutors blasted the accident claim.

“That’s what we hear from our children when they break a dish,” said prosecutor George Bruch. “That’s what we hear when a baseball goes through a window. … Her life was worth the price of a bus ticket so he can go on and get back to his life and do what he wants.”

George Jones Jr., the victim’s older brother, said he would never forget the day his sister died. His mother had called him and asked him to check on Jones because there was some problem at her house.

“As I was driving down 664 near Pughsville Road, I see a police car,” he said. “Everywhere we were going, the police car was going. I had a feeling, something ain’t right.”

“I just want to know from him, why?” Jones continued. “When he was having a down day, she sent him a gospel song (on Facebook). How could you do that to a person that tried to uplift you?”

Jones was led out of the courtroom sobbing after his testimony.

Jones’ mother, Mary Jones, said her young granddaughter still talks about her mother.

“I just want to tell Mr. O’Neal that he has just destroyed our family,” she said. “He just put a big void in our family that never can be replaced.”