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Indiana woman gets 48 years in death of man found in woods

PERU, Ind. (AP) - A woman convicted for her role in the 2018 slaying of a man found beaten to death with a pipe in wooded area of northern Indiana has been sentenced to 48 years in prison.

A Miami County judge sentenced Brittany Morris of Jonesboro on Wednesday, suspending two years to supervised probation in 22-year-old Drake Smith's May 2018 killing, the Kokomo Tribune reported.

A jury convicted Morris, 21, this year on felony charges of aiding, inducing or causing murder; aiding, inducing or causing robbery; and a misdemeanor charge of theft in connection with Smith's death.

According to court documents, police said Morris and fellow defendants Ethan Cain of Marion and Joshua Kean of La Fountaine were involved in a plot to rob Smith of drugs and money. The plot allegedly led all four to a wooded area, where police said Cain and Kean beat Smith to death with a metal pipe.

Police said Cain, Kean and Morris then fled the scene with Smith's clothing, cash, drugs, beer and a small speaker. Mushroom hunters found Smith's body the same day of the killing in a wooded area east of Peru, which is located about 79 miles (127 kilometers) north of Indianapolis.

Days later, Cain and Kean were arrested in southern California.

Cain pleaded guilty to felony murder and he was sentenced in February to 55 years, while Kean is awaiting trial

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