PAPILLION, Neb. (KMTV) -- — A husband takes responsibility for killing his wife and throwing her body in the Missouri River.
Brandon Norton, 39, pleaded guilty to 2nd degree murder and disposing of a body.
In June 2018, Norton strangled his wife, Jennifer Norton, at their Bellevue home and threw her into the Missouri River. Brandon was upset she was planning to divorce him.
The couple had two children together, and her family says her kids were her life.
“My hope in everything is that the judge will make the right decision and give him life in prison. I don't want him dead. I'm not like that. I want him to always remember what he did and never forget Jennifer's face,” said Dolly Mason, Jennifer’s mother.
Authorities didn't know he killed his wife until he walked in their door and told them the next day. Her body was found near Plattsmouth.
“When asked why he did what he did, the defendant stated, ‘he didn't want to lose his family and she had served him divorce papers approximately one month prior, and it took him 5 minutes to take his children's mother away from them,’" said Phil Kleine with the Sarpy County Attorney’s Office.
Brandon Norton faces 20 years – life in prison for the 2nd degree murder conviction. He will be sentenced on March 23.
