Mechanic gets 60 years in business associate's 2014 killing

CROWN POINT, Ind. (AP) - A northwest Indiana mechanic has been sentenced to 60 years in prison after jurors convicted him last month in the 2014 killing of a business associate.

Thomas R. Smith of Hobart was sentenced Wednesday in Lake Superior Court in the death of 48-year-old David Krawczenia at an automotive shop in Gary. The 66-year-old's defense attorney says Smith will appeal the sentence and trial. Smith told the judge he didn't commit the crime and that he prays for Krawczenia every day.

Krawczenia was a Portage automotive wholesaler. He disappeared in November 2014 and his body was found two weeks later without a head and arms in the trunk of his vehicle in Griffith. Family told police that Krawczenia was at the automotive shop to a collect a $16,000 debt from Smith.