KENNEWICK, Wash. (TCN) -- A man will spend the rest of his life behind bars for killing his pregnant ex-girlfriend, whose body was found in a river nearly three years ago.

The Benton County Prosecutor's Office announced that Richard Jacobson was sentenced on July 7 to life in prison for first-degree aggravated murder in the death of Brandy Ebanez, who KAPP-TV reports was the defendant's ex-girlfriend. A jury previously convicted him on June 18.

According to KNDU-TV, on Sept. 22, 2022, an off-duty Kennewick Police officer found a body in plastic sheeting and a comforter in the Columbia River near the Cable Bridge. In an initial release from the Kennewick Police Department, investigators said they positively identified the victim as 34-year-old Ebanez. She reportedly suffered a broken neck and was around 16 to 20 weeks pregnant at the time. Officials suspect Ebanez had been killed before she was placed in the river.

Authorities identified Jacobson as the primary suspect and arrested him near Portland before he was extradited to Benton County in March 2023.

MORE:

• Press Release - Benton County Prosecutor's Office
• Man sentenced to life in prison for murder of Brandy Ebanez - KAPP
• Benton County man sentenced to life for murder of pregnant woman in 2023 - KNDU
• Update – Homicide Investigation, 11/3/2022 - Kennewick Police Department