UPDATE: Man sentenced in Cullman Co. murder; 2 others await trial

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Daniel Osborn was killed in 2018.(Jeremy Cline)

CULLMAN COUNTY, Ala. (WBRC) - A judge has sentenced a man to 99 years in prison for a murder.

Jurors convicted Andrew Jacob Maresh in October for killing Daniel Ray Osborn, II of Hartselle.

“As promised after his conviction in October, our office requested that Maresh be sentenced to life in prison,” said District Attorney Blaylock. “The testimony at trial revealed that Maresh and his accomplices took elaborate steps in the planning and the cover-up of their murder of Daniel Ray Osborn, II. It is apparent that these actions were considered against Maresh by Judge Williams when she handed down the lengthy sentence. From start to finish, our office has not and will not relent in seeking justice for the Osborn family. I was present at the scene when investigators removed Osborn’s body from the backyard grave, and it was an honor to represent the State and Osborn’s family at the sentencing hearing. Now that Maresh has been sentenced to 99 years in prison, our office will continue forward with the prosecution of Maresh’s two accomplices.”

In February 2018, Osborn, was with Maresh and Tyler Hudson at the home of Susan Smith, Maresh’s grandmother, in the Fairview community.

Osborn was shot in the back of the head and killed. The defendants are accused of burying Maresh’s body on the property and staging a cover-up to prevent anyone from knowing that they had killed Osborn.

Shortly after his disappearance, Osborn’s family filed a missing persons report with the Hartselle Police Department.

Jurors heard testimony that the defendants continued to use Osborn’s cellphone to mislead his family, friends, and law enforcement into believing that Osborn was still alive. Approximately seven weeks later, acting on a tip, the Cullman County Sheriff’s Office went to the property and recovered Osborn’s body and obtained evidence leading to the indictments issued against Maresh, Hudson, and Smith.

The cases against Hudson and Smith remain pending and will be scheduled for a trial at a later date.