A second man was sentenced to life in prison for the death of a woman who was kept in a cage and dismembered in southwestern Missouri in 2021.
Timothy Norton had pleaded guilty in Dallas County court to first-degree murder in the death of 33-year-old Cassie Rainwater. As part of his plea deal, the kidnapping and abandonment of a dead body charges were dropped.
The other implicated in the brutal murder, James Phelps, pleaded guilty earlier this year in the same case and was also sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The two men were arrested in September 2021. Rainwater was kept in a cage on Phelps’ property near Lebanon, Missouri.
The FBI received other photos showing the victim dismembered and disemboweled. Some of her remains were found in a freezer, authorities said.
“I deserve to die,” Norton told KYTV after his sentencing. He added he and Phelps believed Rainwater had robbed them and wanted their items back, and things got “out of control” at Phelps’ home.
Rainwater was reported missing in August 2021 after last seen with Phelps. The man told investigators the woman was staying with him, but she had gone to Colorado, according to court records.
Phelps’ home was intentionally set on fire after the murder, investigators confirmed.
