Beaver Co. Man Faces Up To 20 Years In Prison For 1991 Murder Case
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BEAVER, Pa. (KDKA) -- A Beaver County man faces up to 20 years in prison in connection to a murder case where the victim's body was never found.
Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced Friday that 69-year-old Loyd Groves, of Beaver, was sentenced to 10 to 20 years in prison for the murder of Katherine Heckel.
Heckel was last seen alive on July 15, 1991. Co-workers said she left for lunch, but never returned. She was declared legally dead several years later.
Prosecutors said Groves and Heckel were co-workers who had been having an extramarital affair, but she wanted to end the relationship.
Groves was charged with criminal homicide decades later and convicted of third-degree murder in December.
The Attorney General's office says advances in DNA science showed that a blood stain found in Groves' van was identified as Heckel's blood through forensic analysis.