Man Pleads Guilty in Connection to Body Buried Near Roundup

A second man has pleaded guilty to tampering with evidence in connection with a man's body that was found in a shallow grave north of Billings.

William James Hoffert III pleaded guilty in June to removing the body of 33-year-old Rory Wanner and blood-stained items.

Wanner died in a Billings home and was buried near Roundup in June 2017. The body was found by a landowner a day or two later.

Prosecutors will recommend a 20-year sentence in the Montana State Prison, under a plea deal.

The Billings Gazette reports that Wanner was in a fight the night he died. Another defendant said Michael Scott LeClair injured Wanner, but Leclair denied that when he pleaded guilty to evidence tampering.

A third defendant, Tyler Nathaniel Crawford, has denied tampering charges.