BIG RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — A man has been found guilty of murder after a woman’s body was found on a hiking trail in Big Rapids last year, according to the Michigan Department of Attorney General.

A jury found Daykota Handrich, 25, guilty of first-degree murder Friday after a four-day trial, the AG’s office said. In Michigan, first-degree murder carries a mandatory life sentence.

The office said Handrich, of Big Rapids, strangled and beat to death 36-year-old Ashley Godfrey, also of Big Rapids, on May 31, 2022. Officers patrolling the White Pine Trail found her body on June 3, 2022.

Handrich was originally charged with open murder by the Mecosta County prosecutor in June 2022. The Department of Attorney General said it took over the case this spring.

While a sentencing date has not yet been set, the AG’s office said Handrich will be sentenced to life without parole in Mecosta County’s 49th Circuit Court.