Convicted murderer gets 4 years added to life sentence for dismembering corpse

photo Tony Bigoms

A man already sentenced to life in prison for killing a woman in 2012 will serve an additional four years for dismembering her body, a Hamilton County judge ruled Tuesday.

Tony Bigoms, 55, was convicted of killing 48-year-old Dana Wilkes and leaving her mutilated body along South Chickamauga Creek.

Wilkes disappeared from her home on Palo Verde Drive in November 2012. Family and friends began to call her son when she didn't arrive at work on Nov. 10, he testified, and he found her abandoned Jeep Grand Cherokee near the Wilcox Boulevard Tunnel.

Two weeks later, duck hunters discovered Wilkes' body near Youngstown Road. Bigoms' DNA was found on her bra and on a cigarette butt inside her jeep. He was the last person with her before her death, but told police conflicting stories about what the two were doing.

Bigoms' earlier sentence, life in prison, was the only possible outcome after a jury found him guilty of first-degree murder in April. That sentence was delivered after the guilty verdict was read. Tuesday's sentence for abuse of a corpse addressed the mutilation of Wilkes' body after she was murdered. He likely used a manual saw to remove her head and hands, investigators said.

Hamilton County Judge Barry Steeleman sentenced Bigoms to four years in prison, concurrent with his life sentence. Bigoms won't be eligible for parole for at least 30 years.

Bigoms had previously been acquitted in the 2006 kidnap, rape and murder of Dinah Burney. A year later, he was convicted of holding a knife to another woman's throat and forcing her to perform oral sex on him.

During Bigoms' trial, prosecutors Lance Pope and Cameron Williams called nearly 30 witnesses and showed phone records, DNA evidence and blood splatters to build their case.

Bigoms' attorney, Assistant District Public Defender Steve Brown, said he'll plan to appeal for a new trial. A hearing on that motion is set for Dec. 10.

Contact staff writer Claire Wiseman at cwiseman@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6347.

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