After skipping out on his murder trial six months ago, an adoptive father accused of killing his 3-year-old daughter was escorted back to court Friday to hear his sentence in person.


Authorities in Mexico caught up to Matthew Aranda, 49, on Oct. 3.


Jurors in May had convicted him in absentia of injury to a child instead of murder.


The same group took just 10 minutes to dole out the maximum sentence for the lesser charge — 20 years in prison.


Because he wasn't present for the sentencing phase of his trial, Aranda was brought before visiting Judge Pat Priest on Friday so the jury's sentence could be made official in the court record.


Aranda and his partner, Norberto Velasquez, had fostered Melody after allegations of abuse and neglect led Child Protective Services to remove her from her biological parents when she was 3 months old.


Their adoption of the girl was finalized about a month before her January 2009 death.


Priest asked Aranda if he'd like to make any comments prior to the official sentencing, and he said yes, speaking off the cuff for one or two minutes.


“Six months prior to the day I lost Melody, I rededicated my life to my Lord and Savior,” he began, before delving into how her death affected his family and discussing his mindset “the moment I crossed the border.”


“I'm here and I'm ready, Your Honor,” he added.


Melody's aunt and uncle, Don and Petra Jimenez, who said they repeatedly attempted to get custody of the girl, were in court for the Friday hearing. Both spoke directly to Aranda before he was escorted from the courtroom to begin serving his sentence.


Petra Jimenez, who testified during the trial, brought with her a prepared victim impact statement that she held in shaky hands, and a framed photograph of her niece that she set up on the jury box before delivering her remarks.


“This was extremely devastating to my family,” she said, adding she had wished Aranda was eligible for the death penalty. “You took my niece. If you weren't guilty you wouldn't have gone on the run. Hate is an ugly word, but I can never forgive you for what you did to my angel.”


Don Jimenez delivered his unscripted remarks next.


“He ran, he's a coward,” he said, speaking to the judge as Aranda shook his head in disagreement. “He murdered my niece. Let him suffer. Let him deal with the pain of what he has done to my niece.”


Aranda interrupted the man a few times, saying, “I didn't do that. It's not true, it's not true.”


The child died of blunt force trauma to the head, according to the medical examiner.


Aranda told police she fell down a flight of carpeted stairs in their home. But X-rays later revealed she had more than a dozen broken ribs, prosecutors pointed out. During the trial, experts disagreed about the age of the fractures and bruises that covered her back, head, arms and legs.


Testimony at trial revealed the couple waited 30 hours after she suffered the injuries to call 911. By the time paramedics arrived, she was unresponsive.


Last November, co-defendant Velasquez, 49, was convicted of not seeking medical help for her injuries.


But before Velasquez's punishment of probation could be officially read into the record, he was removed from the courtroom on a gurney and taken to an emergency room. He died three weeks later.