"I know my son is happy because he knows I'm gonna fight... I know Gemmel is looking down happy and proud," said LaTisha Nixon, Gemmel's mother.
It's a major verdict for a mother on a mission as disgraced Democratic donor Ed Buck was ordered to pay Nixon $2 million for his death.
"It sends a loud and clear message that if you're gonna give drugs to people in your home under the guise of a party or play and they die, then you're gonna be held accountable," said attorney Hussain Turk
Buck was convicted in 2021 of nine felony counts stemming from the overdose deaths of Moore and another man at Buck's West Hollywood apartment. Prosecutors say the 71-year-old targeted homeless black men experiencing addiction, luring them to his home for so-called party and play sessions where he would drug his victims. Jurors in the wrongful death lawsuit deliberating just an hour before their unanimous precedent setting verdict.
Buck was sentenced in 2022 to 30 years in federal prison in connection with the overdose deaths.
"Justice for Gemmel's family, justice for other victims, but also just like we've been saying all along, other folks will know you cannot get away with this type of behavior," said victim's rights advocate Jasmyne Cannick.
Gemmel's mother says The verdict proves his life mattered.
"It means closure for me. It means I can fully mourn now," Nixon said. "I have not been able to mourn. I have been in fight mode for eight years."
Nixon says she knows the fight likely isn't over as Ed Buck's attorneys are expected to file an appeal. But she says this verdict is all she wanted.