Virginia Beach massage therapist found guilty of killing, dismembering co-worker he was...

[massage]

VIRGINIA BEACH


A massage therapist received the maximum sentence of 40 years in prison Friday after a jury found him guilty of murdering and dismembering a co-worker he was dating and then dumping her body parts in the Great Dismal Swamp.

Justin Keith Cornell, 39, did not react when the verdict on a single charge of second-degree murder was announced. But his mother cried out and complained that jurors had rushed through their deliberations so they could start the long holiday weekend.

The jury spent an hour and a half deciding guilt and just 20 minutes on a sentencing recommendation. They also fined Cornell $100,000.

Brianna Armstrong and Cornell worked at Knuckles ‘N’ Knots, a day spa with locations in Virginia Beach and Chesapeake.

“Brianna was very bubbly, always hugging everyone,” said Sylvia Steele, another massage therapist who worked with both. “Justin was a quiet person and kept to himself.”

Steele said she and other staff members knew that Armstrong, who was married, was dating someone, but they did not realize it was Cornell until after Armstrong was reported missing.


Testimony showed that the 43-year-old woman was last seen on the evening of May 7, 2015, at Cornell’s apartment. Her remains were found stuffed in garbage bags three weeks later by a man bike riding on a trail off Douglas Road who saw several birds of prey picking at the remains. He noticed a bone sticking out of one of the trash bags when he got closer.

Prosecutors introduced 132 pieces of evidence during the five-day trial. A doctor who performed the autopsy testified that the body had been disarticulated, meaning it had been severed at the joints the way a surgeon would perform an amputation. A manager at Knuckles ‘N’ Knots testified that massage therapists must receive 700 hours of extensive education and training about human anatomy to be certified.

Additional evidence against Cornell found in his apartment included: 14 martial arts knives, an artificial Christmas tree that had needles similar to green fragments found in the bags with the body parts, a bra and shirt belonging to Armstrong, and a small blood stain on the carpet containing her DNA. Also, the same type of black trash bags with red handles used to bag the body were found in Cornell’s apartment.

Discovered in other trash bags near Armstrong’s body were:

• A receipt from a local psychiatric office with Cornell’s name and address.
• A shower curtain, clothing and a bottle of drain cleaner.
• Boxer shorts with Cornell’s DNA that were the same brand and type found in his apartment.

One of the most damning pieces of evidence against Cornell involved a search of his cellphone. It showed that seven hours before Armstrong’s remains were found, the phone had been used to do a Google Map search of the exact location in the Great Dismal Swamp where her body was found.

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