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Crime

After May 22nd, 2019, 25-year-old LeeAnna Brumley, a mother of two, stopped posting on social media and contacting her kids.

Her worried mother reported her missing on June 4th, 2019.

After investigating, police learned that Brumley was staying at the Pulaski County, Kentucky, home of 53-year-old Gerald Avalon Hendricks at the time of her disappearance.

Police already knew Gerald’s name well. They had recently received a report that he had taken two women from a friend’s home at gunpoint in April 2024 and driven them to a secluded area. He allegedly made both of the women strip. One woman was allowed to leave on foot, but the other was reportedly taken back to his home and violated.

On June 19th, 2019, Gerald was arrested for kidnapping, rape, and other charges related to that incident.

Two weeks after Gerald was arrested, police interviewed 33-year-old Danelle Powell. She was also staying at Hendrick’s home when Brumley went missing.

According to detectives, Powell told them Brumley was having some health issues on May 22nd, 2019.

Instead of taking her to a hospital, Gerald called his cousin, 39-year-old Corky Hendricks, to pick her up. Corky drove her to a nearby farm, and Gerald and Powell followed behind in a separate vehicle.

Once they got to the farm, Brumley was reportedly shot with a sawed-off shotgun, hacked with a hatchet, then rolled into a rug and placed in a trailer connected to Corky’s vehicle. Corky drove the body to his home as Gerald and Danelle followed behind.

They reportedly threw Brumley’s dead body on a burn pile at Corky’s home, but when someone who lived with him came home from work early, they wrapped the body back in the rug and took it to Gerald’s home. There, they burned the body along with other evidence.

Powell admitted to being the shooter but claimed Gerald pointed a gun at her and threatened to hurt her and her kids if she didn’t pull the trigger.

After speaking with her, they turned their attention to Gerald’s cousin. He confirmed most of Powell’s story, except that he said Gerald did not have a weapon, only Danelle.

Police arrested him in October on unrelated charges of cultivating marijuana and possessing a handgun as a convicted felon.

Brumley’s remains were found in Science Hill, Kentucky, in November 2019.

Not long after, police arrested Powell for murder.

Convictions

Powell pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter in 2022 and was sentenced to 8 years in prison with the possibility of release after 5 years. She also agreed to testify against Gerald at his trial.

Corky pleaded guilty to one count of tampering with Physical Evidence in June 2021. He also pleaded guilty to the marijuana and weapons charges that initially got him arrested. He was sentenced to five years in prison.

In October 2020, police got enough evidence to indict Gerald on murder and tampering with physical evidence charges.

On September 30, 2024, he pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison. He also pleaded guilty to kidnapping and rape. He was given 10 years, which will run concurrently with the manslaughter sentence.

He must serve 85% of his sentence before he can be released.