From The Tribune staff reports
MONTGOMERY — A Lamar County man has been sentenced to death for the 2015 capital murder of his ex-wife.
Sykes, 40, was found guilty of three counts of capital murder on February 22, 2022, by a jury in Lamar County Circuit Court following a 10-day trial. The State presented evidence that Sykes murdered his ex-wife, who was 29 at the time of her death, during the course of a burglary, kidnapping, and robbery. He then disposed of her body which has never been recovered.
“Mr. Sykes murdered his ex-wife in cold blood and a jury of his peers in Lamar County correctly rendered a just verdict of death, which was upheld by Judge Junkin today,” said Attorney General Steve Marshall. “Justice was delivered today.”
During the trial, the State presented forensic evidence that Keisha Sykes’s blood was found throughout her house and that a small piece of her flesh was discovered in the yard. Evidence was presented showing that a forcible entry was made through a rear bedroom window of Keisha Sykes’s house and that her car and phone were stolen. Several days later, Keisha Sykes’s car was found burned and abandoned and Brandon Sykes was found to be in possession of her phone. Two witnesses also testified that Sykes confessed to them that he had killed his former wife.
During the sentencing phase of trial, the jury voted to impose the death penalty by a unanimous 12-0 verdict on February 23, 2022, after the State proved four aggravating circumstances: that Sykes committed the murder during the course of a burglary, that Sykes committed the murder during the course of a kidnapping, that Sykes committed the murder during the course of a robbery, and that Sykes committed the murder while he was under a sentence of imprisonment from a previous assault conviction.