They Met Online and Were to Live Happily Ever After. Instead, Cops Found One Buried in the Other's Backyard.

A Mississippi man shot and killed his lover then buried her in his backyard. Now, he will be behind bars for the rest of his life.

Recently, Jackson County Judge Robert Krebs sentenced Phillip Allen York, 58, to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the shooting death of Sarah Jane Willard. However, right before York’s trial started, the defendant pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and possession of a weapon by a convicted felon.

“This was a heinous crime driven by the defendant’s selfish sexual desires. The defendant thought that no one would come looking for the victim. He was wrong. Sarah’s life mattered and today we got justice for her and her family,” said District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath, according to WLOX.

In February 2020, officers responded to York’s home on Sweetbriar Street in St. Martin, Mississippi, after they received a tip from the FBI Safe Streets Task Force about the disappearance of Willard. The 29-year-old victim was last seen in October 2019 in South Florida.

Upon arrival, investigators found the body of the Willard buried in York’s backyard. An autopsy report showed Willard died due to a gunshot wound to the head.

York was previously convicted for malicious wounding, equivalent to an aggravated assault under Mississippi laws, reported Sun Herald.

Krebs sentenced York to additional 10 years in prison for the possession charge. Then, he ordered the defendant to serve both sentences back-to-back.