‘Monster’ convicted of killing NYC mom-of-nine Joyce Williams in 1998 finally sentenced in Manhattan courtroom

The devastated daughter of 1998 murder victim Joyce Williams, in an emotional Manhattan courtroom sentencing, posed just a single query to the monster who killed the pregnant mother of nine: Why?

“That question lives in my head,” said Arlene Lidge, who was just 7 years old when Williams was found naked and strangled on a housing project rooftop. “And I know that it will go unanswered for eternity.”

Lidge spoke directly Thursday to defendant John Price, already serving a 67-year term for a rape and murder in the Bronx, before the killer was slapped with another 7½-to-fifteen years for the brutal killing of her mom.

“I did not fully understand what was going on,” said Lidge, the youngest of the victim’s children. “As I got older, I began to fully realize she didn’t intentionally leave us. It was you, Mr. Price. You took her away from us.

“Your horrendous act devastated our family. We were all she had.”

Price, now 60, was accused of the gruesome killing in January 2012, with the victim’s family waiting more than a decade for a sentencing in the horrific homicide as they worried whether justice would ever be served.

“My mother can finally rest in peace knowing that her kids are down here keeping her name alive,” said daughter Joylena Hines, 33. “And that man, I don’t even want to say — that monster, that individual — got what he deserves.”

Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Steven Statsinger imposed the sentence during a brief hearing as the victim’s family sat in the gallery, while Price arrived in a prison outfit.

Williams, 41, was found dead on a rooftop landing of the Wagner Houses in East Harlem on July 9, 1998.

NYPD Detective Robert Dewhurst, who closed the long-cold case, had suggested checking DNA samples taken from under Williams’ fingernails against a police database.

The ensuing match then led to the suspect’s arrest more than a decade ago, when Mayor Michael Bloomberg was in City Hall. Dewhurst recalled the suspect saying “maybe the devil made me do it” once in custody.

“This family needed closure,” he said.

Price was previously convicted in 2001 of raping and murdering Pamela Watson on a Bronx rooftop on April 22, 1998 — three months before Williams was killed.

After his sentencing for the Watson slaying, Price’s DNA was put in a state database. Clothing retrieved from a dumpster at the Wagner Houses was also crucial, with investigators finding a hair follicle linked to Price.

The killer’s arrest on the 1998 charge also involved a painstaking review by the Manhattan District Attorney’s cold case unit of nearly 3,000 files dating back to the 1970s.

Dwayne Williams, son of the victim, struggled with his emotions after Thursday’s hearing ended.

“My feelings right now are numb,” he said. “But I am happy after 25 years, we finally got the justice we deserve. So rest in peace to my mom. We love her.”

Price, already incarcerated in Sing Sing prison, did everything he could to delay his prosecution for Williams’ death, said a law enforcement source with knowledge of the case.

Over the years Price fired at least one attorney, delaying proceedings, and said he would plead guilty to the charges only to change his mind at the 11th hour, the source said.

At one point, the defendant demanded to represent himself at trial before ultimately pleading guilty on April 24, according to court documents.

“I know for a fact that he will never see the light of day,” said daughter Lidge. “We got what we were waiting for, I guess.”