VIERA, Fla. – A man now in his 50s was found guilty Wednesday in Brevard County court of beating a woman to death in 2014 whose body was located in the Indian River, according to the State Attorney’s Office for Brevard and Seminole counties.
53-year-old Lance Berning was found guilty by a Brevard jury of first-degree murder and kidnapping in the killing of Jennifer Hedges, whom investigators said was 24 years old when she was beaten to death and placed in the river.
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The 13-day trial — involving around three hours of deliberation and presided by Judge Charles Crawford — ended with sentences for Berning of life in prison without the possibility of parole on both offenses, to be served consecutively.
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Brevard deputies on Oct. 9, 2014 were notified of a body floating in the Indian River, off Riverside Drive in Titusville, a release states.
The body — later identified as Hedges — had been weighed down with concrete, which matched statements Berning made to a friend regarding how he had killed a woman, placed her body in the river and “would get better at disposing a body next time where they do not find it,” according to investigators. During the trial, Berning denied any involvement.
“I’m grateful they delivered justice on behalf of Jennifer Hedges and her family,” Assistant State Attorney Samantha Barrett said in a statement. “...I can’t imagine how horrible the last minutes of Jennifer’s life were. Then BERNING (sic) just threw her away like she didn’t matter. Today he learned that Jennifer does matter, and that’s the reason he’ll spend every remaining day of his life in prison.”
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