Man led Gulfport police to Tena Broadus’ remains. He avoided a life prison sentence.

A man who admitted he was involved in the cover-up of Tena Broadus’ death, but later gave information that helped divers recover her remains from the Biloxi River, was sentenced Thursday.

Circuit Judge Christopher Schmidt sentenced 21-year-old Devin Gregory to 30 years and suspended 10 years, leaving 20 years to serve.

Gregory avoided a possible life prison sentence for second-degree murder by pleading guilty instead of going to trial. He pleaded guilty to his role in April and testified in the trial of Joshua Peterman in June.

Peterman, a 31-year-old member of the Simon City Royals street gang, has been convicted of killing 29-year-old Broadus on Sept. 18, 2015. He thought she would snitch to police about him stealing change from vending machines, according to testimony.

A Harrison County jury found Peterman guilty of first-degree murder on July 12. Peterman, deemed a habitual offender, is serving life without parole. His prior felony convictions include burglaries of a home and a business.

Peterman and four others were using meth at his house the day Broadus was killed. He and Broadus began to argue and it turned into a fight, according to testimony. She was taken to a building behind Peterman’s home, where her arms were tied to a chair with duct tape and she was assaulted by Peterman and his girlfriend, Kari Michelle Parker.

Peterman reportedly beat her in the head with a machete handle and finally strangled her.

Gregory testified he later walked into the shed and saw Broadus hanging by a rope. Parker, he said, told him that she had cut Broadus’ throat.

Broadus’ remains were taken to a wooded area, where Peterman put her petite body head-first into a barrel and set her on fire. Peterman took the remains out the next day and threw them in the Biloxi River, according to Gregory.

Divers found her skeleton and a partial skull on Oct. 7, 2015. How she died could not be determined.

Parker, 36, is serving a 17-year prison term on a guilty plea to second-degree murder. At Peterman’s trial, she testified she was high on meth and “really didn’t care” when she saw Broadus’ bloodied body.

Aaron Bobinger, 33, of Gulfport, is serving a 12-year prison term for helping dispose of Broadus’ remains before they were set on fire.

Natasha Sellers, 43, is serving five years for accessory after the fact to murder. She drove Broadus’ remains to the location where Gulfport police later found them.

This story was originally published August 10, 2018 at 12:00 AM.