Man Sentenced In Murder, Dismemberment Of Girlfriend

INDIANAPOLIS -- A man who was convicted last month of murdering and dismembering his estranged girlfriend was sentenced Friday to 68 years in prison, bringing at least some semblance of closure to the victim's family.

Joshua Bean, 23, used a chainsaw to cut apart Heather Norris' body, burned the remains, placed them in 10 trash bags and threw them in Dumpsters on the city's south side. Norris' remains were never found.

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Slideshow: Man Stabbed, Burned, Dismembered Estranged Girlfriend

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Bean, who received the maximum possible sentence, made a chilling statement in court during his sentencing, one that will likely haunt Norris' family for years to come.

"I'm truly sorry for what took place. I love you, Heather. I'll miss you forever," Bean said.

Norris' uncle, Jerome Ancelet, didn't mince words when asked what he thought about Bean's statement.

"Manipulative, just like all of his other comments … in his relationship with Heather. He's a domestic abuser," Ancelet said. " This guy's an animal. He's just sorry as a human being. He deserves everything that could possibly come to him."

Norris' mother, Debbie Norris, said she was pleased with the sentence but is still hurting.

"There's no body. We never got the chance to say goodbye to Heather. We have no casket and we have no gravesite," Norris said. "There'll never be closure. We just want Heather back."

Norris, 20, was reported missing in April 2007, about two weeks after she was killed.

Jurors rejected Bean's claim that he killed Norris in self-defense. On the final day of the trial, Deputy Prosecutor Ann Harrigan called Bean a man without empathy, sympathy or conscience.

"Given the methodical nature with which this particular defendant carried out the cleanup of his actions, the amount of circumstantial evidence was presented to the jury and gave them a clear indication that he was not just methodical, but he was also a murderer," Harrigan said Friday.

In a taped confession, Bean said Norris pulled a knife on him and that he "flipped out," took the knife and stabbed her.

Two domestic battery cases had previously been filed against Bean for alleged attacks against Norris. He was found not guilty on one of the charges and another case was pending at the time of Norris' death.

"I was glad that … the judge saw everything for what it was," Norris said.