Jan 14, 2021

Bellevue man gets prison for moving body of victim

Posted Jan 14, 2021 5:40 PM
Eric Palmquist
Eric Palmquist

BELLEVUE, Neb. (AP) - A Bellevue man has been sentenced to three years in prison for his role in moving the body of a man found shot to death in a park last year.

Eric Palmquist, 22, was sentenced Wednesday after pleading no contest to concealing a body and tampering with physical evidence, the Omaha World-Herald reported.

Palmquist was one of five people arrested in connection with the death of 19-year-old Matthew Brenden. Brenden's body was found on Oct. 20, 2019, in Bellevue's Faulkland Park. He had died from a single gunshot wound to the head. Prosecutors say Palmquist was among those who moved Brenden's body from a home where he was shot to the park.

Last October, Armondo Becerra, 21, was sentenced to two years in prison after pleading no contest to tampering with physical evidence. Alyssa Edmisten and Emily Groff, both 19, have pleaded no contest to false reporting in Brenden's death and are awaiting sentencing.

Police say Edmisten has said Brenden shot himself at Carpenter's home during a gathering, and the group decided to move his body to avoid talking with police because Carpenter's parents were out of town and alcohol was present at the gathering, according to officials.