Arkansas man sentenced to life in prison for 2010 slaying

POTEAU, Okla. (AP) – A judge in eastern Oklahoma has sentenced an Arkansas man to life in prison without parole for the 2010 killing of a 22-year-old woman.

LeFlore County District Judge Jonathan Sullivan followed the jury’s recommendations when he handed down the sentence Wednesday for Elvis Thacker.

Thacker was convicted in April of first-degree murder in the death of Briana Ault of Fort Smith, Arkansas.

Thacker’s attorneys blamed his brother, Johnathen Thacker, with killing Ault. Johnathen Thacker pleaded guilty in 2014 to first-degree murder as part of an agreement in which he testified against his brother.

Johnathen Thacker is set for sentencing on Friday.