Third Man Sentenced in Death of Missing Man Found in Grave

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A judge has sentenced a third defendant in a Montana case for his involvement in a cover-up after a man fatally collapsed in a Billings Heights home following a 2017 fight.

The Billings Gazette reported Monday that 30-year-old Tyler Nathaniel Crawford was sentenced Monday to eight years in prison in Yellowstone County District Court.

Authorities say 33-year-old Rory Wanner got into a fight inside Crawford’s home in June 2017 before he collapsed, seized and stopped breathing.

Prosecutors say Crawford used bleach to clean blood while others took his body to a remote area where he was later found in a shallow grave.

Two other men Michael Leclair and William Hoffert are serving prison sentences for evidence tampering.

Crawford’s attorney Chuck Watson says it was Leclair who fought with Wanner.

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Information from: The Billings Gazette, http://www.billingsgazette.com