SPARTANBURG MAN RECEIVES 40-YEAR PRISON SENTENCE FOR KILLING GIRLFRIEND

A Spartanburg man received a 40-year prison sentence today after he admitted to beating his girlfriend with a golf club while she slept and then strangling her.

Brian Keith Wilson, 33, pleaded guilty to the July 2005 murder of 24-year-old Latonya Jones. Wilson will serve every day of Circuit Judge Derham Cole’s sentence. He is not eligible for parole.

Jones’ body was discovered about 8 p.m. on July 4, 2005. Several members of Jones’ family found the body at the Fernwood-Glendale apartment she shared with Wilson. They found Wilson at a neighbor’s cookout. They searched the couple’s home and found the body hidden in a closet near the front door. Jones had a bag over her head.

Sheriff’s deputies found a bag of lime in the trunk of Wilson’s car.

During an interview with sheriff’s deputies, Wilson admitted to killing Jones and he said he planned to dump the body somewhere. He also led deputies to the dumpsters where he disposed of the golf club used in the attack.

Wilson did not have a prior criminal record. Jones is survived by an 8-year-old daughter, a 10-year-old daughter, her mother and her grandmother. Several members of the family spoke during the guilty plea.

“This was a cold-blooded homicide,” Assistant Solicitor Cindy Crick said. “He attacked and killed a defenseless, sleeping woman. At the time of her death, Latonya Jones was just working hard every day to make a better life for herself and her two girls.”