LAMAR COUNTY, Miss. (WHLT) – A woman who was found guilty of murdering a Lamar County man in 2018 was sentenced on Friday, September 23.

The family of Thomas Burns, 54, reported him missing when they couldn’t contact him or find him at his home on Purvis-Oloh Road. The next day, Lamar County deputies found his body inside a freezer at his home on May 22, 2018. He died of asphyxiation.

Samantha Simmons, 40, was charged with first-degree murder and receiving stolen property. She was accused of stealing three vehicles, a golf cart, a trailer, tools, household items and furniture from Burns’ home.

In text messages with her mother, Simmons claimed she had paid Burns for the items. She said the last time she saw him was when he was “heading to his brother’s to cook dope.” She also told her mother that she had been using meth, but not when she was arrested. Additionally, she said she was sleeping with Burns for money.

The Hattiesburg American reported Simmons was found guilty of both charges. She was sentenced to life in prison for first-degree murder and 20 years for the stolen property. She received the maximum sentence on both charges.