LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A Bullitt County man convicted of kidnapping and killing a man in 2020 will spend 25 years in prison.

Brandon Stivers, 40, was sentenced Friday after pleading guilty to murder, kidnapping and other charges earlier this year.

A warrant was issued for Brandon Stivers on Nov. 11, 2020, for tampering with physical evidence. On March 1, 2021, kidnapping and assault, first-degree charges were added to the warrant. He was arrested on Feb. 16, 2022, charged with kidnapping, assault and tampering with physical evidence.

Investigators said Brandon Stivers used phone messages to lure 32-year-old Justin Burt to their home on Sept. 4, 2020. Once he arrived, the couple attacked him, according to police. While Brandon Stivers was fighting Burt in the garage, police said Nicole Stivers grabbed a gun and shot Burt. Police said they then put him in the trunk of their vehicle and shot him again before fleeing the scene and driving to Ohio.

Witnesses in Ohio allegedly told police that Brandon Stivers admitted to shooting Burt and that Nicole Stivers admitted to burning him.

To date, Burt has not been found. His current status is not known.

Police said they found Brandon Stivers with the vehicle allegedly involved in the murder on Nov. 2, 2020. Court documents said that when a search warrant was executed on the vehicle, chemical tests revealed multiple spots where blood had been found on the trunk's roof. Court documents said the the lining of the trunk had been removed.

Nicole Stivers initially told police that she stabbed Burt, put him in the trunk of her vehicle and forced him into the Ohio River, her husband having nothing to do with the crime. But, according to phone records, police said they determined that Brandon Stivers was with his wife at the time and was "actively involved" in the assault.

Nicole Stivers was arrested in November 2020 and charged with kidnapping, assault and tampering with physical evidence. She was sentenced last month to 30 years in prison. As a violent offender, Nicole Stivers must serve 85% of her sentence. 

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