Man Who Strangled, Incinerated Friend Who Kissed His Girlfriend Gets Life In Prison
HOWELL, Mich. (WWJ/AP) - A man who bludgeoned and strangled a friend, then incinerated his body after the victim kissed the killer's girlfriend has been sentenced to life in prison.
Livingston County Judge David Reader issued the sentence Wednesday for 30-year-old George Tanner of Brighton Township.
Tanner pleaded guilty Sept. 30 to charges of second-degree murder and mutilating a corpse for the Oct. 15, 2011, killing of 40-year-old Christopher Townsend.
Tanner's girlfriend says Tanner admitted he and Brian Stafford killed Townsend, one day after Townsend kissed her.
Tanner confessed he beat Townsend with a wrench and strangled him with a seatbelt, then burned his corpse in a wooded area in Green Oak Township.
According to authorities, Stafford drove Townsend's vehicle with the victim in the passenger seat while Tanner did the killing. Townsend's body was burned to the point that authorities only found about a pound of remains, the Livingston Daily reported.
Stafford, who pleaded second-degree murder and mutilating a body, confessed that he aided Tanner. He cried and asked Townsend's family for forgiveness when he was sentenced to life in prison two years ago.
Stafford is currently housed at the St. Louis Correctional Facility in Montcalm County.
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