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Man sentenced for Bobbie Maples murder

Posted at 2:50 PM, Oct 03, 2016
and last updated 2016-10-03 17:00:48-04

MUSKEGON, Mich. — A man who pleaded no contest in the death of Bobbie Maples was sentenced Monday to 55 years in prison.

Ronald Williams pleaded no contestAug. 26 to second-degree murder.

Maples, 32, disappeared in Dec. 2014, days after giving birth to her daughter.  Her body was found 13 months later, after police received a tip, buried under a horse corral near a Fruitland Township barn.

Court records show Maples died from suffocation. Investigators found duct tape over her mouth and nose and a plastic bag covering her head. Her body was wrapped in a plastic sheet with tape all over her body.

Williams at the time was in jail for a drug conviction. He told investigators that he "administered" drugs to Maples and was the only person present when she died, though he  never confessed to duct taping her. Court records also showed investigators found sleeping medication in Maples' body.

Prior to Williams' sentencing, Maples' mother Muriel spoke in court Monday, saying he robbed Bobbie's children of a lifetime with their mother.

"Bobbie was also a daughter to a mother who is now heartbroken and confused on why and how some monster could play God and take a life; but not just a life, my baby girl's life," Muriel Maples said.

Then reading a note from Maples' sister, Muriel said, "Not only did he take Bobbie’s life as he felt fit, but he also continued to text me-my daughter-after the murder of my sister to tell me that Bobbie was his love and his baby blue eyes. If Ronald could do this to someone that he considered his love, then why would he think that he would not do this again to someone else?”

Williams will be eligible for parole 18.5 years into his 55-year sentence.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.