Ex-Navy sailor gets 5 years for helping superior kill himself, make it look like a murder
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}FILE: This photo shows Paul Bricker. (Virginia Beach Police Department)
A former sailor convicted of killing a Navy superior will spend five years in prison.
Media outlets report that 27-year-old Paul Stephen Bricker received a 10-year sentence Monday in Virginia Beach Circuit Court, with five years suspended.
Bricker pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in April.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}He told investigators that Chief Petty Officer Gerard Curran wanted to commit suicide and recruited him to help. He said Curran wanted his death to appear as a homicide so his family would receive benefits.
Prosecutors said Bricker stabbed Curran at First Landing State Park in August 2009. Bricker was a petty officer second class at the time.