Life In Prison

A Rusk County man will spend the rest of his life in prison without the opportunity for parole.

That was the sentence handed down to Preston Kraft on Friday. He was convicted of killing Robert Pettit at a home near Conrath back in 2018. He led police on a five-day manhunt before he was caught.

Since the murder, Kraft went through several competency exams and at one point was found not competent to stand trial.

On Friday, a judge sentenced Kraft to life in prison without parole and ordered him to pay $27,269 restitution.

The sentence came after a disruption from Kraft in the courtroom, they even had to mute his microphone.

It was noted in court records Kraft stated he is innocent.