A suspect and former boyfriend of a Kenyan student nurse was sentenced to six years in prison on Wednesday, June 14.
The accused pleaded guilty to felony theft and unlawful use of a credit card, cited as evidence in the case.
In the case heard at Campbell County District Court in Gillette, Wyoming, the accused was ordered to serve three to six years in prison for each charge, with the sentences running concurrently.
Despite investigations continuing, he was also ordered to pay more than Ksh1.8 million ($13,000) in fines and restitution.
The 25-year-old Kenyan immigrant was last seen in Gillette, Wyoming, on March 1, 2022.
Detectives arrested the suspect a month later, in April 2022, on suspicion of stealing thousands of dollars from the girlfriend, weeks after she vanished.
He was then accused of using her credit cards, withdrawing money from her bank account, and allegedly selling some of her belongings.
The prosecution alleged that the suspect withdrew nearly Ksh518,000 ($3,700) from her bank account and spent Ksh452,000 ($3,230) from her credit card.
The investigators also established that Hightman had arguably accessed and deleted her email account to conceal his tracks.
While responding to the allegations, the accused argued that he withdrew the funds to force the deceased to contact him and come out of hiding.
He admitted to stealing the money and selling the deceased's items but refuted claims that he killed the Kenyan immigrant.
No charges were filed against the accused in connection with the woman's disappearance. As such, the case remained unsolved, with the State of Wyoming gathering more evidence to present before the court.
However, the woman's family accused the suspect of her disappearance and hoped that an underway search and rescue mission would be successful.
The deceased moved to the United States from Kenya to study nursing in the Boise, Idaho, area, where her two older brothers live.
Court documents indicated that she met the boyfriend on Craigslist and moved to Gillette with him in July 2021.
