Life in prison for Skipper's killer

A judge has sentenced Joseph Bearden to life in prison for his role in the stabbing death of Ryan Skipper.

Earlier today, the jury Joseph Bearden guilty of second-degree murder charges in connection with the stabbing death of Skipper, an openly gay man in 2007.

The judge gave Bearden the maximum sentence, telling him he believed he killed Skipper because he way gay.

Skipper was stabbed to death in Polk County in March of 2007.

Jurors said Bearden was guilty on all five charges he was on trial for: of theft of a motor vehicle, accessory after the fact, tampering with evidence and dealing in stolen property.

The jury of three men and nine women deliberated more than 11 hours in the case at the Polk County Courthouse.

The second-degree degree murder charge means the death penalty is off the table. The defendant does not face life in prison day for day like a first-degree murder verdict with life in prison. He does face at least 25 years in prison.

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Joseph Bearden and William David Brown Jr. were arrested and charged with murder in connection with the death of Ryan Skipper in March of 2007.

Their trials were separated; Brown is still awaiting trial.

Facts that went undisputed during the trial are that Skipper met Bearden, and the two smoked marijuana together. They then took a laptop computer from Skipper's home to try to sell in order to buy more drugs.

Skipper then drove Bearden over to the home of Ray Allen Brown. Once there, Bearden used Brown's father's cell phone to try to contact people to sell the laptop. It is at this location that William David Brown Jr. first met Ryan Skipper.

On those points both sides agree.

The prosecution maintained during the trial that Skipper was last seen alive when Bearden and William Brown Jr. left with him in his car, and that the two men stabbed Skipper to death while he was still in the car.

The defense presented their theory that Skipper was killed by William Brown Jr. and his cousin Ray Allen Brown, and that Bearden met up with them afterwards and helped to clean and get rid of the car.

Forensic evidence showed was that Skipper was in fact stabbed to death in his own car. He was stabbed 19 times with wounds in his back and neck.

The judge will sentence Bearden according to the verdict guidelines later today.

The trial has drawn attention partly because Ryan Skipper was gay, and the defense theory was that he was killed because he was "messing" with the defendants.

But neither Bearden or Brown were charged with hate crimes because the prosecution said robbery, not hate, was the motive for the killing.