WEST UNION - Tonie Barrett was convicted of first-degree murder on Monday and sentenced to life in prison, for killing an Oelwein woman last year.

Barrett was convicted of killing Marie Ferrell, 28, on May 23, 2005. Ferrell was killed in Oelwein and her body was discovered several weeks later in a shallow grave behind Crystal Distribution Center in Waterloo.

Barrett struck Ferrell with a hammer after an argument, Judge Thomas Bower said in court Monday.

"It is a horrendous, despicable act that you undertook that day," Bower said.

Bower presided over Barrett's trial at the Fayette County Courthouse in West Union. Barrett waived his right to a jury trial.

Barrett's lawyer has already appealed the verdict.

First-degree murder is a Class A felony. The life sentence is mandatory under Iowa law.