The man who was convicted of strangling a woman on a Valley Metro bus in Phoenix has been sentenced to 40 years in prison.

Joshua Bagley accepted a plea agreement for second-degree murder and kidnapping charges after being initially charged with first-degree murder.

During Friday’s sentencing, Bagley addressed the judge and expressed remorse for what happened..

“I would like to apologize to the family for what I did,” said Bagley. “It’s the biggest mistake I have ever made in my life. I deserve the maximum sentence.”

Bagley was arrested back in May 2022 after someone called Phoenix police about a woman not breathing on a bus near 27th Avenue and Baseline Road.

The 41-year-old mom, identified as Diane Craig, was killed back on May 6, 2022, after prosecutors said the mother had boarded the Valley Metro bus around 7 a.m. in the area of 22nd Avenue and Lower Buckeye Road.

According to court records, the only other passenger on the bus at that time was Bagley.

Authorities say Bagley used the straps of a purse to choke Craig until she wasn’t breathing. He then pushed her between two rows of seats, went to the front of the bus, and got off at the next stop.

In court, Craig’s family members talked about the pain and heartache they’ve been through, urging the judge to impose the maximum sentence.

“He did take someone’s life,” said Adriennne Craig, the victim’s sister. “I believe 40 years is just not enough. I wanted him to get life or death, Death was my first choice, to be honest.”

Valley attorney Ben Taylor said the plea deal did not make any sense, especially considering the fact that the brutal murder was all captured on camera.

Some family members wanted the case to go to trial.

“The jury would have found him guilty of first degree murder easily,” said Taylor. “It’s on video. There is video of him strangling Diane Craig. I don’t understand why they would offer a simple plea.”

Arizona’s Family reached out to the prosecutors and asked why a plea deal was offered in this case.

They insist that Bagley should have been in jail at the time of the murder, but a breakdown in communication between law enforcement agencies let him back on the street.

Craig’s family filed a lawsuit against the bus driver and transportation company, claiming the driver heard screams but failed to act.

Another lawsuit against Maricopa and Mohave County blamed law enforcement agencies for negligence in not keeping Bagley in jail following his arrests in 2022. However, a judge dismissed that case, citing governmental immunity.

The lawsuit against the bus driver and transportation company’s Transdev services remains ongoing.