The last of the men who disposed of a murder victim's burned remains in a southern Indiana County creek has been sentenced in connection with the slaying two years ago of Pittsburgh teenager Rodnell Burton.
Robert Watkins Jr., of the Clarksburg area, was ordered Wednesday to serve up to two years in a state prison for his guilty plea to abuse of a corpse.
With Watkins' sentence, prosecutors have closed the books on what was commonly called the "barrel body" case -- the killing of Burton on March 29, 2010, in Watkins' mobile home along Barclay Road. The co-defendants in the case had earlier pleaded guilty and been sentenced: Jon Black, of Yukon, Westmoreland County, is serving 10 to 20 years in prison for second-degree murder, and Christopher Ladue, of Clarksburg, is serving one year of probation for disorderly conduct.
