Long Sentence Ordered in Savage D.C. Murder

WASHINGTON (CN) - One of the culprits behind the elaborate kidnapping and murder of an 18-year-old woman was sentenced Tuesday to 32 years in prison.

Brian Gaither, 25, of Washington, D.C., had pleaded guilty on the eve of trial in November 2012 to the first-degree murder of Latisha Frazier.

He admitted to being "one of the leaders of a group of six young men and women" involved in Frazier's death, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office.

These individuals plotted on Aug. 1, 2010, to kill Frazier as a "lesson" because of their unsupported suspicions that she had stolen $900 from one of them.

The plot involved luring Frazier to an apartment where the group would be waiting to attack her.

Prosecutors said Frazier cried for them to stop as the group carried out its beating.

"Gaither then joined in the attack, punching, kicking, and stomping on Ms. Frazier, and beating her until she was unconscious," they said in a statemetn. "The group decided to bind Ms. Frazier with tape around her wrists and ankles and then put her in a closet. At that time, Ms. Frazier was still alive. As she began to moan from the closet, Gaither returned to the bedroom and choked her."

Prosecutors said one member of the group went to check on Frazier and found her dead.

The group then hatched a plot to get rid of the body.

After attempting to dismember the corpse in the bathtub, Gaither placed the remains in a large plastic crate, which he threw into a nearby dumpster.

Frazier's body was never recovered and is believed to be in one of two landfills in rural Virginia, prosecutors said.

Johnnie Sweet, a 19-year-old co-defendant, is scheduled to stand trial on April 22, 2013.

Prosecutors said others arrested in connection to the case have been in custody since January 2011.

Judge William Jackson handed down Gaither's sentence in D.C. Superior Court.

Gaither will face five years of supervised release after serving his prison term.

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