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4 Men Sentenced In Beating Death Of Woman Dumped Along Detroit-Area Road

Johnson - Betts - Bashlor - Hurston Herron
Terrance Johnson (top left), Randy Betts (top right), Michael Bashlor (bottom left) and Joshua Hurston-Herron (bottom right).

DETROIT (WWJ/AP) - Four men will serve time behind bars for their roles in the death of a 46-year-old woman whose battered body was dumped along a road in a neighboring Detroit suburb.

Terrance Johnson, of Westland, and Randy Batts, of Detroit, pleaded guilty on Monday to second-degree murder in the death of Diedra Akins. Under agreements with prosecutors, Johnson is to serve 28 to 60 years in prison while Batts is to serve 22 to 60 years.

Michael Bashlor and Joshua Hurston-Herron, who helped dispose of Akins' body in Dearborn Heights, pleaded guilty to being accessories after the fact. The plea agreements call for Bashlor to serve two to nine years in prison, while Hurston-Herron will serve one year in jail followed by probation.

Police say Johnson, 45, and Batts, 31, fatally beat Akins in the basement of her Westland home in January. Johnson was Atkin's housemate, described in some reports as her live-in boyfriend. According to officials, the trio was having an argument about drugs that escalated.

After the beating the pair got help from Bashlor, 34, and Hurston-Herron, 23, disposing the body, which was found wrapped in a bed sheet along Powers and John Daly roads not far from the Ecorse River. An autopsy determined Atkins died of blunt force trauma to the head.

Shortly after the body was discovered, Bashlor walked into the police department and allegedly gave investigators information on Atkin's death. His admissions led to a search of Atkin's house, where investigators found Johnson in possession of Atkin's identification and insurance card.

TM and © Copyright 2015 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2015 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

 

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