A Florida resident has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the gruesome murder of a woman he met through a dating app, followed by the burning of her dismembered body.

At 32, Daniel Stearns was found guilty of second-degree murder, corpse abuse, and evidence tampering after his trial wrapped up in October. The conviction came over two years after he was accused of killing Nancy Howery, a 44-year-old mother of two. According to Law&Crime, Howery’s disappearance was reported on February 18, 2023, by her ex-husband when she did not arrive to pick up their children from school.

Howery was last known to be alive on February 15, 2023, having informed a friend that she intended to meet Stearns in Palm Bay that day.

The Broward County Sheriff’s Office began monitoring Stearns, which led them to a secluded area called the Compound. In a statement, officials revealed, “Stearns was observed attempting to dispose of evidence at the location. He was subsequently detained by the Game Over Task Force.” The remains discovered at the Compound were later confirmed to be those of Howery.

Further investigations uncovered that Stearns and Howery had a fierce argument on February 15, 2023, during which Stearns fatally shot Howery. Authorities stated that Stearns proceeded to dismember and incinerate the body, scattering the remains across multiple locations. The ordeal spanned several days, resulting in five separate crime scenes at the Compound that law enforcement had to examine.

At sentencing on Thursday, prosecutor Samantha Barrett said, “The defendant was angry at Ms. Howery. He was jealous, because she was seeing other men and that their relationship was not exclusive. She was not, to quote him, ‘following his relationship rules.’”

Todd Howery, the ex-husband of the victim, said, “What he has done to Nancy was demented and defective. … It wasn’t just a murder, okay? It was a savage slaughter.”

Stearns was sentenced to life in prison for the murder charge. Additionally, he was sentenced to more than 22 years in prison for both the abuse of a dead human body and tampering with evidence.