Columbus woman’s killer sentenced to prison

CLAY CENTER, Neb. (KSNB) - The man convicted of killing a Columbus woman and dumping her body in a Clay County field was sentenced Friday in Hastings.

Anthony Mattison, 36, of Osceola, was convicted of second-degree murder last summer for the 2022 shooting death of 25-year-old Jasmine Garnett. Garnett’s remains were later found in a field near Harvard.

District Judge Morgan Farquhar Friday sentenced Mattison to a minimum of 50 years in prison for Garnett’s murder and 48 years for use of a firearm to commit a felony.

During Friday’s hearing, Mattison chose not to speak.

Judge Farquhar said to Mattison, “You made moves to save your own skin.” Farquhar also said that he did not believe Mattison, had “value for human life,” and “human life always has value.”

Mattison was originally charged with first-degree murder in Garnett’s death but took a plea deal for second-degree murder on Aug. 20 in Clay County District Court.

10 days after Garnett went missing, he was arrested for attempted murder after a shootout with Hastings Police in September 2022.

In Adams County, Mattison pleaded no contest to two counts of attempted murder in connection with the shootout. Prosecutors dropped numerous other felony charges as part of that plea bargain. He was sentenced to a minimum 45 years in prison for each of the two convictions. He will also be serving 48 years for use of a firearm to commit a felony. All of those sentences will be served separately, which the judge told Local4 could total around 200 years behind bars.

Authorities determined the gun used to kill Garnett was the same one that was used used to shoot at Hastings Police.