Man sentenced to 20 years in prison in fatal beating of woman found in trash bag
A Jackson County judge on Monday sentenced a 62-year-old man to 20 years in prison for the beating death of Brandy K. Helbock-Castaneda five years ago, according to a news release.
A judge found Kevin O. Hurley guilty in December of second-degree murder in the death of 42-year-old Helbock-Castaneda.
She was last seen on Dec. 5, 2015, in the 1300 block of East 82nd Terrace. Her sister reported her missing on Dec. 23, 2015, according to court documents. City workers found her body in a black trash bag in January 2016 near East 49th Street and Brooklyn Avenue.
The Jackson County Medical Examiner’s office reported the cause of death as blunt force trauma.
DNA found on the victim’s ankle linked Hurley to the homicide, which had remained unsolved for two years. Hurley was on parole at the time of the killing after serving time in prison for robbery and murder. Investigators also linked DNA from a robe found around Helbock-Castaneda’s hips to Hurley, according to court documents.
In addition to the DNA evidence, police traced three outgoing calls from Helbock-Castaneda’s cellphone to a person living at an apartment across the street from where she was last seen alive. Detectives questioned that person, who said she didn’t know the victim.
She added that her uncle, Hurley, had been at her home with her fiance at the time Helbock-Castaneda was last seen nearby, according to court documents.
