A Vernon County jury found Jeremy Maples guilty last week of the July 2009 shotgun first degree murder of Belinda Beisley, 47, near Greenfield. The jury deliberated two hours and 35 minutes in Stockton where it was moved Wednesday due to the start of Bushwhacker Days celebration on the Nevada Square.

The victim’s body was found July 15, 2009, by a Vernon County deputy during a well-being check.

Orignially, the victim’s husband, Bob Beisley II, 61, was charged with first degree murder with investigators alleging that he had recruited Maples, his farm hand. They claimed he offered him $10,000 to kill her because they were going through a divorce and she was in line to get a large portion of the family farm, the Rockin’ B Ranch. The state was later forced to drop the charge because of lack of evidence.

The state had stated it would not seek the death penalty. Maples will be sentenced to life in prison at a sentencing hearing on Aug. 5.

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