UPDATED: Jennings Found Guilty Of Isenbletter's "Grisly" Murder; Sentenced To LIfe:

Matthew S. Jennings

A jury has found a man from Springfield guilty of second-degree murder and armed criminal action in the July 2008 "grisly" stabbing death of Jason Isenbletter.

Isenbletter's mother found him dead in his duplex with more than 50 stab wounds and his throat slit after he hadn't shown up for work several days. The medical examiner believes he was dead approximately four days before he was found.

In court documents, Detective David Meyer writes thatMatthew S. Jennings and Christopher Coleman went to Isenbletter's house to buy pot late on the night of July 17, 2008. The two men told investigators that Isenbletter answered the door with a gun in his hand and that prompted the killing.

A Highway Patrol trooper in Oklahoma operating a "smart car" that can scan the license plates of multiple vehicles at one time was alerted to Isenbletter's stolen vehicle as he drove through a rest stop in Thackerville.

According to court documents, Coleman, 28, and Jennings approached the trooper with their hands up, "We killed our friend," Coleman said.

Christopher Coleman

Coleman pleaded guilty to his role in Isenbletter's murder last August, and was sentenced to life in prison.

The jury has recommended that Jennings be sentenced to life in prison for the murder conviction and an additional 50 years for the armed criminal action conviction when he is sentenced on July 2nd.

UPDATE JULY 2, 2010:

Judge Calvin Holden sentenced Jennings was to life on the murder conviction (a life sentence in Missouri is 30 years) + 50 years for armed criminal action. Those sentences will run concurrently (at the same time.)