CASS COUNTY, MO (WTAQ-WSAU) – A Missouri Judge has sentenced Garland ‘Joey’ Nelson to life without the possibility of parole for killing Nick and Justin Diemel in 2019.
The sentence came Friday, one day after Nelson pled guilty to two counts of first-degree murder in exchange for the dismissal of several other counts.
Nelson killed the Shawano County brothers on his farm in northwestern Missouri. Court documents show Nelson fatally shot the brothers who came to collect a $250,000 check as part of a cattle deal.
During a hearing, Nelson pleaded guilty to two counts of murder in the first degree, court records show. Several other counts were dismissed.
At the hearing, Nelson admitted to shooting the brothers, burning their bodies, and disposing of the remains. Some remains were found on his ranch. Another set of remains was found in the back of a stock trailer by a rancher that had recently purchased the trailer.
Judge Michael Wagner handed down two consecutive life sentences without the opportunity for parole.
“I am hopeful that the Diemel family will now be able to return to their lives without this hanging over them,” special assistant prosecutor Stephen Sokoloff said in a news release. “I know that no sentence can bring Nick and Justin back to them, but they can sleep knowing that Nelson will be behind bars for the rest of his life.”
Nelson also faces mail fraud charges in federal court. The trial scheduled for Monday on that case has been canceled, with a plea hearing on Tuesday, court records show.
