A father who killed his wife and two children as they lay sleeping has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. 

Timothy Fradeneck, 38, of Eastpointe, Michigan, strangled his wife Christie, 37, and their children Timothy, 8, and Celeste, 2, with a USB cord last April.

He pleaded guilty in January to multiple counts of first-degree murder and first-degree child abuse claiming he was mentally ill. 

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Going to prison: Timothy Fradeneck (above) of Eastpointe, Michigan, was sentenced to life in prison without parole on Tuesday

Horror: Fradeneck pleaded guilty in January to multiple counts of first-degree murder and first-degree child abuse claiming he was mentally ill (Family members and friends holding up photos of the victims on Tuesday)

Monster: In April 2015 Fradeneck strangled his wife Christine, 37, and their two children Timothy, 8, and Cece, 2, to death with a USB cord (family above)

On Tuesday, the friends and family members of the victims held up their photos in court while Judge Diane Druzinski handed down her sentence.

'I failed myself when I failed to protect my family from myself. I let the despair that I felt in my head eclipse the love I felt in my heart,' Fradeneck said at the sentencing according to the Detroit free Press.

He also said that he 'failed as a husband, as a father, as a son.'

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Judge Druzinski said that victim impact letters she read decribed Christie as 'kind, loving and sensitive' before noting the impact these murders will have on children who knew the family and his son Timothy.

She said those young children will never forget that their friend Timothy was 'murdered by his father.'

Fradeneck's guilty plea last month meant the family of the victims did not have to endure hearing the details of the murdered during a trial, and Fradeneck has said he will use the rest of his life to tray and impact change in the mental health system.

At the time of the murders he claims that he was attempting to get Medacaid to help him seek treatment for his problems, but having trouble getting around the 'beaurecratic red tape.'

Fradenceck said; 'In the end I despaired of ever getting the help that I so desperately needed and my wife and two children died by my hand as a result.'

Arrest: Fradeneck (above in April 2015) said at the sentencing he had 'failed as a husband, as a father, as a son'

Heartbreak: Friends and family of Christie Fradeneck and her two children holding up photos in court (above)

Loss: Christie's mother, Leslie St. Denis (above), said after the sentencing; 'Maybe we can start to heal'

Christie's mother, Leslie St. Denis, said after the sentencing; 'Maybe we can start to heal.' 

Her sister, Courtney Zanni, read a statement in court Tuesday, saying of Fradeneck; 'We don't believe his stories. He's a master storyteller. She was married to a monster.'

It was Zanni's call to police that led them to discover the bodies last April.

She said she was worried about the mother of two after not hearing from her all day.

Police said that Fradeneck opened the door and let the officers enter, insisting that his wife and children were sleeping. 

When officers refused to leave, they say Fradeneck copped to killing all three. Their bodies were found lying in their beds. 

He had laid on all three victims to force the air out of their lungs and then strangled them with the cord.  

Police said that Fradeneck had been planning to kill his family for months. 

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