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Fairview Man Gets Life in Prison for Killing Kalispell Woman

Cody Wayne Johnston sentenced for death of Nicole Waller

By Molly Priddy

SIDNEY — A Fairview man has been sentenced to life in prison for killing a Kalispell woman that he had been dating.

District Judge Elizabeth Best sentenced Cody Wayne Johnston on Tuesday for deliberate homicide and tampering with evidence for the February 2013 disappearance of 31-year-old Nicole Waller. Waller’s body has not been found.

Johnston was charged in August 2015 and convicted in October 2016.

Prosecutors said Waller had contacted family on Valentine’s Day 2013 and said she was breaking up with Johnston and returning to Kalispell. Her vehicle was found abandoned near Poplar.

Investigators believe Johnston killed Waller and put her body in a barrel. A witness testified he helped Johnston move Waller’s vehicle to where it was found near Poplar.

Johnston has said he plans to appeal his conviction.