Lori Brown's fiancé told a jury on Wednesday that Lori, his high school sweetheart, taught him, who lost his parents when he was 15, what love is

"I've never met anyone like Lori in my life," Johnnie Tuggle said.

Tuggle was one of a dozen family members, friends and co-workers of two, murdered Cobb County women -- Real Estate Agents Lori Brown, 21, and Cynthia Williams, 33 -- who took the witness stand on Wednesday and tearfully read aloud their very personal Victim Impact Statements.

Many of the jurors -- ten women and two men -- wept as they listened.

The jurors will soon have to decide whether to impose the death penalty on the man they just convicted of the murders, Stacey Humphreys, who shot the women to death during a robbery on November 3, 2003, inside the model-home sales office of the west Cobb County subdivision where they were selling homes.

The victims' loved ones tried to describe what Humphreys took away from them when he took the lives of Brown and Williams, and how the murders created a void in their lives that they said will never go away, forcing some of them to seek medical help for their grief, putting some of them on pain medications and anti-depressants, and straining their families nearly to the breaking point.

Johnnie Tuggle, now a Cobb County police officer whose father died when he was 15 and whose mother then left him, tried to remain composed as he testified, calling Lori "a real life angel" who taught him what love is.

"In her voice, I heard it. In her smile, I saw it. In her touch, I felt it. She was all the things that I loved," Tuggle said.

They were planning a September, 2004, wedding.

Cynthia Williams' husband of three years, Ted Williams, Jr., said that ever since the murders he has lost his direction, his will to make decisions.

"I'm constantly aware that Cyndi's gone," he said. "I miss Cyndi constantly," saying he catches himself during the day wanting to ask Cyndi what she thinks about this or that.

"I imagine her laughter," Williams said, and he wept -- "Cyndi and I were supposed to grow old together, and now she's gone. All I can think about is how I can be with her."

Williams and others described Cyndi as outgoing, energetic, who always put others first.

"Cyndi was my strength, my humor, my drive and my love. The only thing I want is to have her back. But that's never going to happen," he said.

Cyndi Williams' older sister, Teri Marks-Brunner, spoke of her family's "living nightmare." Her eyes filling with tears, her voice cracking, and at times shouting in her pain and anger, she said her family is torn apart.

"Mom and Dad do not deserve this! Our family has a hole in it, a huge hole that no one can ever fill," Marks-Brunner said. "My sister is gone and I will never again be able to see her, talk with her about my new, little son, or spend time with her. Time will never take away the hurt."

Lori Brown's mother, Linda Brown, said, "My heart is broken. I feel like I'm in a maze and I can't get out. But I keep running and looking for Lori and hoping that she will be there. I want her to be alive so badly. I would have gladly taken her place on that November day.... I believe that Lori is in the hands of God, now. I will se her again one day. This is what keeps me going."

Lori's father, Wayne Brown, Sr., said that of all their four children, Lori was most like he, and "November 3, 2003, was the worst day of my life.... my world was turned upside down."

Wayne Brown took frequent deep breaths, trying to read the words he had written, trying not to break down.

"There's been such a vacuum in our family since that fateful day," he said. "It's like someone has turned the light off in our home. Lori was the glue in our family. And without her, an emptiness exists within. I miss her laughter, self-confidence, her gregarious personality, her integrity, her tenacity."

Humphreys' attorney, Jimmy Berry, told the jurors prior to the testimony that, as difficult as it would be to hear the Victim Impact Statements, he would be presenting evidence that he hopes would help them think deeply about whether they really believe execution is the just sentence in this case. For example, he said, Humphreys has serious medical problems that include having a form of autism.

"Let me tell you right now, this is not an excuse for what he did. This is not a defense to what he did. I want to make that very clear. This is a mitigating factor, a disorder that a person has that sometimes causes them to react differently than, maybe, you and I," Berry said.

Berry told the jurors that's just one of the mitigating factors he would be presenting to them as he asks them for mercy -- a sentence of life in prison rather than death.

Cobb County Assistant District Attorney Marc Cella said in his opening statement that he would be presenting evidence of the life of crime Humphreys, 34, has led, as well as the testimony of other victims of Humphreys' burglaries, thefts and assaults, and that even Humphreys' own family didn't want him around.

"After you hear it all, return a sentence of death in this case. It's the only sentence that fits this crime," Cella said.

Testimony was expected to continue into Thursday, at least. The jury will then hear closing arguments, and decide their sentence for Humphreys -- life in prison with the possibility of parole, life without parole, or death.