First-degree murder charges have been filed by the Nebraska Attorney General against Joshua W. Keadle, 36, in the December 2010 case of missing Peru State College student Tyler Thomas.
Thomas was 19-years-old when reported missing early Dec. 3, 2010, when she didn't return home from a party days before Christmas break.
FILE COVERAGE: SEARCH FOR MISSING STUDENT CONTINUES (2010)
Friends searched for her for several hours, but to no avail; and an extensive search involving volunteers, law enforcement, and trained dogs on subsequent days also were unsuccessful.
FILE COVERAGE: FAMILY WORRIES ABOUT MISSING STUDENT (2010)
Her body was never recovered.
Keadle, currently serving an April 2012 sentence of 15-20 years for first-degree sexual assault, had been a person of interest in the 2010 investigation. He told investigators the two had consensual sex in his truck at a boat ramp along the Missouri River, but police arrested him for filing a false report.
FILE COVERAGE: CHARGES DROPPED AGAINST KEADLE (2011)
In 2013, a judge declared Thomas legally dead.
The murder charges were filed in Nemaha County Court, according the press release from the state AG's office. He is currently serving his sentence at the Lincoln Correctional Center. The investigation was conducted by Nemaha County Sheriff's Office, Nebraska State Patrol, Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Nemaha County Attorney's Office, and the state AG's office, according to the release.
The state AG's office has been appointed as special prosecutors in the case; the Nemaha County Attorney's office will assist.
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