EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. (AP) – A St. Louis man has been sentenced to 40 years in prison for killing his girlfriend and concealing her death by dumping her body in Madison County, Illinois.

Madison County Circuit Judge Kyle Napp sentenced Raamon Reed on Wednesday. Reed pleaded guilty in November to shooting Tabatha Lynae Milton-Rush to death on New Year’s Day 2013. Her body was found a few days later along Illinois Route 255 one mile north of Route 140 near Bethalto, Illinois.

Madison County State’s Attorney Tom Gibbons says he hopes the victim’s family will “take some comfort” in the sentence. Gibbons says he hopes Reed will spend the rest of his life in prison.

The Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis assisted the Bethalto Police Department with its investigation of the case.