COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – A Council Bluffs man received the maximum sentence in court on Thursday for his role in the death of a 28-year-old woman more than a year earlier.
Justin Sickler, 45, was sentenced to the maximum penalty for the death of Council Bluffs resident Brianne McIntosh, 28.
McIntosh was reported missing to Omaha police on December 12, 2023. Her body was discovered in a remote area of Fremont County, Iowa, on February 17, 2024, with severe facial injuries that authorities believe were related to her death.
Sickler pleaded guilty to charges of willful injury resulting in serious injury, corpse abuse, and first-degree robbery.
District Court Judge Eric Nelson sentenced Sickler to the maximum for all three charges. These charges total 45 years in prison.
Several friends and family members spoke in court, pleading with the judge to give Sickler the maximum allowable sentence, with several calling him “a monster” and warning the court that if he is not imprisoned for an extended period of time, he will re-offend.
The judge agreed, telling Sickler that he is a danger to society and has a long history of serious and violent offenses dating back to when he was a teenager.