Friday afternoon was the sentencing hearing for 86 year-old Richard G. Pierce in the Door County Circuit Court. This April, a jury found Pierce guilty of one count of first-degree murder from the disappearance of his wife in September of 1975. He was also found guilty of one count of disinterment of the corpse. Judge David Weber sentenced Pierce to life in Wisconsin State Prison for the count of first-degree murder. He was also given 3 years in prison for disinterment of the corpse, that sentence running consecutive to the first. His wife, Carol Jean Pierce, disappeared around September 5th of 1975 when she and Richard still lived in Sturgeon Bay. He then moved to Michigan where he ended up being charged with her disappearance over 46 years later.
