A Man Said His Girlfriend Found Texts From a Love Rival on His Phone. Then, Her Body Was Found in a Toolbox at His Grandma’s Home.

A Tennessee man was convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend, whose body was found in an abandoned home, officials said.

After a six-day trial, a jury recently found John Bassett, 31, guilty in Knox County Criminal Court of first-degree murder, abuse of a corpse, and tampering with evidence in connection with death of Desheena Kyle, the Knoxville News Sentinel reported.

Kyle, 26, was reported missing in June 2021, and her remains were found in an abandoned home the following September.

According to the News Sentinel, at the time of the body’s discovery, the victim’s former boyfriend, Bassett, was locked up on drug and weapons charges and he was indicted for her murder in October 2021.

Prosecutors claimed in court that Bassett shot Kyle in the head and hid her body in a toolbox, which he then transported to the abandoned home belonging to his grandmother.

The defendant took the stand in his own defense and testified that Kyle died after she found text messages on his phone from another woman and put a gun to her head. According to Bassett, the firearm discharged and killed her after she bumped into a chair and he lunged at her.

The prosecutors called his version of events a “well-rehearsed story.”

Bassett was sentence to serve life without the possibility of parole, WBIR reported.