A Lincoln man who was convicted by a Pettis County jury on April 30 of murdering a Sedalia woman last year has been sentenced to spend decades in state prison.
According to the Sedalia Police Department, on January 21, 2018, Justin K. Lewis turned himself into authorities and was taken into custody without incident. He was accused of stabbing to death 33-year-old Heather McClellan earlier that month in Pettis County.
Lewis, who is now 30 years old, entered a plea of not guilty on February 20, 2018.
Online court documents say Lewis was charged with a Class A Felony for Second-Degree Murder; a Class E Felony for Unlawful Use of a Weapon; and an Unclassified Felony for Armed Criminal Action.
On Tuesday, June 18, the state recommended sentences of life in prison on the Second-Degree Murder and Armed Criminal Action charges and seven years on the Unlawful Use of a Weapon charge. After hearing all of the arguments, the judge sentenced Lewis to 30 years in the Department of Corrections on the Second-Degree Murder and Armed Criminal Action charges and seven years on the Unlawful Use of a Weapon charge, with all of the sentences to run consecutively.