Burlington, Ia (The Hawk Eye)- The two men convicted of murdering Edward “Eddie” Breuer this past March each were sentenced Monday to 60 years in prison.
The Hawk Eye reports that 26-year-old Majestic Malone, and Markell Price, of Burlington, were convicted in August of second-degree murder and third-degree kidnapping following a two-week trial and three hours of jury deliberation.
During the trial, witnesses testified that on March 17, Malone and Price forced Breuer into the upstairs apartment at 404 Acres St. Once inside, a witness testified, the men beat Breuer to death. Afterward, the men brought him downstairs and laid him face down in the dirt.
Under Iowa law, the mandatory sentence for second-degree murder is 50 years. Seventy percent of this sentence must be served before the men will be eligible for probation or parole.
The men also were sentenced to 10 years in prison for the crime of third-degree kidnapping. These sentences were ordered to be served consecutively.
The men had argued that Stanley Baldwin, who has yet to stand trial for the charge of willful injury, should have been forced to testify in the trial of the two men. Attorneys argued that Baldwin was present for actions taken against Breuer the day of his death
The trial for Baldwin is set to begin Dec. 3 in Van Buren County.
