Corey MatthewsThe second of four men accused of beating a Cowan, Tenn., man to death with a hammer in March 2013 has been convicted on murder charges after entering a surprise guilty plea this week.
Todd E. Dalton, 29, pleaded guilty Wednesday to facilitating first-degree murder on the day his trial was set to start in Franklin County Circuit Court. Dalton and three other men were accused in the slaying of Corey N. Matthews, whose body was found on March 24, 2013, in a cornfield on Slag Town Road just outside of Cowan.
Dalton was sentenced to 25 years in prison in the plea.
Co-defendant David G. Jenkins was found guilty last year and was sentenced in June to life in prison without parole. Co-defendants John Corey Lanier, 29, and Coty Keith Holmes, 28, each are charged with first-degree murder and felony murder in Matthews’ death. Their court dates are pending.
The four men and the victim had ties to the white supremacy group known as the Aryan Nation or Aryan Brotherhood.