Wednesday, January 29th 2020, 5:50 am
One of two people accused of killing a Tulsa man and dumping his body in Muskogee County was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole.
Gerald Lowe Jr. entered a blind guilty plea last month and waived his right to a jury trial. A judge also sentenced him to 20 years for kidnapping, 7 years for desecration of a human corpse and 5 years for gang-related offense.
Investigators said they believe Lowe and Michaela Riddle brutally beat Courtney Palmer to death, and then dumped his body in Muskogee County.
"Our hearts go out to the family of Courtney Palmer who was beaten and tortured to death," said Assistant District Attorney Cindy Cunningham.
"There is no punishment that can be given to compensate for the family’s loss and the victim’s suffering."
Related Story: Tulsa Homicide Detectives Recover A Body In Muskogee County
Police said Palmer witnessed a shooting at the Tamarack apartments in Tulsa in November of that year.
They said he was high on PCP when he witnessed the shooting, so they decided to interview him later, but when detectives went to find him two days later, Palmer was missing.
The gang-related offense must run consecutively to the other counts, by law. The other counts will run concurrently, according to prosecutors.
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