Judge Gasiorkiewicz said that Eaton’s self-rehabilitation in the years since he committed murder was not the issue, but that he needed to pay for the years of life he took from troubled Amber. He said that while Eaton may have turned his life around, he threw Amber’s away like a “soda can” on a highway. As for the Creek family, they are happy with the outcome. 

“One of the most difficult parts of having Amber’s life played out in the snippets and sound bites of a murder trial is that someone else gets to decide what’s important for the world to know about her,” said Diana Creek, Amber’s stepmother. “The Amber that I knew and loved was a young lady that loved big, that loved hard, and wanted so very much to be loved back … Amber was a cheerleader and she played the violin.”