Joseph Bauer was sentenced on Monday evening September 16, 2019 to five years for complicity to commit murder and five years for facilitation to commit robbery for a total of 10 years.
Bauer, who has been in jail since August 2018 for unrelated charges, was found to have played a role in the disappearance and subsequent murder of Laura Anderson, who was last seen Feb. 11, 2018, near the Pilot off KY 92 at exit 11 in Williamsburg.
Bauer was charged in connection to the incident in September 2018 after police say he confessed to police about his involvement while he was in custody.
Family members of the victim were visibly and audibly upset after the ruling was handed down by Judge Paul Winchester. "He was supposed to tell us about the body," shouted Anderson's mother as she exited the court room.
Commonwealth's Attorney Ronnie Bowling says the family was hoping for a life sentence, and that he and his team did the best that they could do given the circumstances.
"It's really incredible Ronnie was even able to get a conviction without the body being found," said Bowling's assistant Nick Wilson.
According to police, in their interview with Bauer, he admitted to knowing the location of Anderson's remains, guiding them to a location in the Clear Fork River, where a single bone was found and later determined not to be human. He then told police that the body had been disposed off Dal Road. Though multiple bones were located in the area, they were also determined not to be human.
Bowling said that search teams will continue to look for the body periodically.