Two sentenced over graphic 2020 kidnapping and murder case in Louisville

Two Louisville residents pleaded guilty Wednesday in Jefferson Circuit Court for the 2020 graphic torture and murder of Jeremy Lind.

Samantha L. Johnson, 33, was sentenced to 20 years in prison and James D. Branham, 40, was sentenced to 16 years in prison, according to court records. The pair were charged in April 2021 over the killing, which took place the previous fall.

Johnson pleaded guilty to complicity to murder, complicity to kidnapping resulting in death, complicity to second-degree assault, complicity to tampering with physical evidence, complicity to abuse of a corpse and complicity to wanton endangerment. Branham pleaded guilty to complicity to first-degree manslaughter along with complicity to kidnapping resulting in death, complicity to second-degree assault, complicity to tampering with physical evidence, complicity to abuse of a corpse and complicity to wanton endangerment.

For subscribers:Hotel Genevieve, latest hotel in Nulu, sets Kentucky Derby week opening. Take a peek inside

Another suspect in the case, Daniel Rosselot, was charged in July 2021 with complicity to murder, two counts of complicity to first-degree unlawful imprisonment, complicity to abuse of a corpse and complicity to tampering with physical evidence. He's pleaded not guilty and is due back in court in late February, court records show.

Johnson and Branham were charged months after Lind had been found dead in an alley Sept. 30, 2020.

Louisville Metro Police cited "foul play" at that time, but more details were released after Johnson and another suspect whose charges were later dropped were arrested months later. Lind, then 35, and another individual had been kidnapped, LMPD said, and were deprived of their "basic human rights." The pair were tortured, an arrest citation said, and Lind was mutilated before he was killed. The other individual survived and escaped, the report said.

More headlines:Louisville to spend $30+ million on new housing campus, eviction prevention. Here's how

Reach Lucas Aulbach at laulbach@courier-journal.com.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Jeremy Lind murder: 2 sentenced over 2020 kidnapping, torture case