(Beatrice) -- The Nebraska Attorney Generals Office announced Thursday that a Gage County jury found 38-year-old Joshua Keadle guilty of murder in the second degree for the December 3, 2010 disappearance and murder of 19-year-old Peru State College freshman Tyler Thomas. 

In response to the verdict, Attorney General Doug Peterson expressed his appreciation to the jury for their diligent deliberations in the case as well as to the countless members of the Peru State College community and the volunteers from the public who diligently searched for Thomas following her disappearance. 

“I greatly appreciate law enforcement’s extraordinary effort in not giving up on this case and the excellent work done by the prosecution team,” stated Attorney General Peterson.

Additionally, Peterson said, “While we have never been able to bring Thomas’ body home, we are hopeful that today’s verdict will bring her family some semblance of closure from their long years of uncertainty and suffering.” 

Keadle, who was convicted in 2012 for sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl while he was attending Midland Lutheran College on a football scholarship, faces a 20 years to life sentence as a result of his conviction for Thomas’ death. Formal sentencing will be held on April 29, 2020, in the Gage County Court.

The case against Keadle was investigated by the Nebraska State Patrol, the Nemaha County Sheriff’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office. Prosecution of the case was conducted by Assistant Attorneys General Doug Warner and Sandy Allen.