A man was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility for parole on Friday in the death of a Columbus woman whose body was found in Delaware County in 2019.
Delaware County prosecutor Melissa Schiffel asked for the life sentence for 36-year-old Justin Eastman.
Eastman was found guilty last month for the aggravated murder of 53-year-old Donna Harris.
Harris was found dead on Nov. 24, 2019, in a rural wooded area off Sherman Road in Berlin Township. She was reported missing several days earlier.
The official cause of Harris' death was blunt force trauma to the head.
Eastman and Harris were in a relationship. Video and cell phone records put the two together just before Harris' death, and where her body was found.
“Justin Eastman took the life of a beautiful soul the day he lured Donna Harris to a remote field so he could kill her and take her money,” Schiffel said. “Under the guise of a romantic evening under the stars, Donna followed Justin Eastman to her death."
After Harris' death, police were searching for Eastman in connection to her murder.
Eastman was arrested in Lawrence, Kansas, by troopers with the Kansas State Highway Patrol in November 2019.
According to Schiffel, Eastman was using Harris' credit cards during his attempt to leave the state, purchasing tools, clothing and a gaming system.
Harris' cell phone also showed activity after her death, showing a transaction from her personal bank account to an acquaintance of Eastman.
