A Kalispell man who admitted to helping dispose of a murder victim’s body in 2010 received a 10-year sentence to the state Department of Corrections after violating the conditions of his probation.
Cody Naldrett, who was 28 at the time of the murder of Welsey Collins’ murder, was originally sentenced to six months in jail and a 10-year suspended sentence for his involvement with the crime.
Robert Lake and Jeffrey Nixon were tried and convicted of Collins’ murder, and Naldrett admitted to helping them transport the body and dump it in the woods.
On May 3, District Court Judge Stewart Stadler revoked Naldrett’s suspended sentence after Naldrett admitted to leaving the state at the end of January without permission.
Naldrett left the state “with a couple of gals,” his attorney Lane Bennett said, and headed to California. His probation conditions also required Naldrett to check in with his probation officer every two weeks, which he did not do after Jan. 17.
Bennett requested that Naldrett be placed in a pre-release center instead of in prison, and said his client had already filled out the paperwork necessary for pre-release placement. He also asked for a 10-year sentence with five suspended.
Deputy County Attorney Alison Howard asked Stadler to allow the Corrections Department to decide Naldrett’s placement, noting that he was given a good opportunity to prove himself to the community and Collins’ family “believe that Mr. Naldrett got a lenient sentence.”
Stadler agreed that the previous sentence was “very, very lenient,” and sentenced Naldrett to a full 10 years with the Department of Corrections, with a recommendation that he be placed in a pre-release center. Naldrett will get no credit for probationary time served.