Man sentenced for killing woman, burning body on reservation
WINNEBAGO, Neb. (AP) - A 27-year-old man from Winnebago has been sentenced to 25 years in federal prison for killing a woman and burning her body.
The U.S. Department of Justice said in a news release that Jonathan Rooney was sentenced Friday in the death of 22-year-old Kozee Decorah in May 2020 and for burning her body near a remote cabin on the Winnebago reservation.
He was convicted in December of manslaughter and destruction of evidence.
According to the Department of Justice, on May 16, 2020, Decorah called the Winnebago Police when she, Rooney, and their infant son got their vehicle stuck in the mud in a remote area.
Officers located the vehicle but did not find Decorah, Rooney, or their son. Around midnight, officers noticed a fire at a remote cabin. Officers say they located Rooney in the cabin with his clothes missing and found the child with him.
Officers say blood was found in the cabin and a human skull was found in the fire.
Authorities say Decorah was identified through dental records.
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