James Thomas Bommer, 52, was sentenced Monday to up to ten years in prison for the mutilation of the body of 32-year-old Paula Prpich last August. Bommer had pleaded guilty to the crime.
Prpich went missing August 12 from the condo she shared with a parent at Bella Vista Condos in the 29000 block of W. Jefferson in Gibraltar.
Six days later her brother Michael was searching along the Frank and Poet Drain behind the condos when a canoeist alerted him to a suitcase floating in the water.
The suitcase contained the remains of a female, later identified as Prpich.
Police began to focus on Bommer when neighbors told them he had a relationship with Prpich that involved sex and drugs.
Police questioned Bommer after they caught him purchasing bleach and other suspicious items that could be used to clean up after a dismemberment.
Bommer broke down. He admitted that he and Prpich had been using the pain killer Fentanyl. When Bommer awoke from a nap, he discovered that Prpich had died.
Bommer claimed he panicked and dismembered Prpich and tried to hide her body.
Bommer led police to other remains in his apartment.
With no evidence of murder, Bommer was arraigned in 33rd district court on one count of mutilation of a body.
He later waived preliminary examination and pleaded guilty.
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