VERDICT IS IN: Bradley found guilty in murder of Shannon Rippy Van Newkirk

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — A convicted killer is heading back to prison for another murder. The jury found James Bradley guilty of 2nd degree murder for the death of Shannon Rippy Van Newkirk.

After hours of deliberating this morning, the jury came to decision around 2 p.m. Thursday afternoon.

Deliberations started yesterday afternoon and worked for about two hours before recessing for the day. They started again at 9:30 this morning.

“No one has searched longer and harder than Shawn, her brother,” District Attorney Ben David said.

After more than three years since Shannon Rippy Van Newkirk went missing District Attorney Ben David took on one of the hardest murder trials in his 18 years.

“We didn’t have a murder weapon,” David said. “We didn’t have a crime scene. We didn’t have a body. We knew this was going to be very difficult.”

After sitting in a trial for two week, Van Newkirk’s family now has peace in knowing her killer is going to prison.

“We the jury by unanimous verdict find the defendant James Opelton Bradley guilty of second degree murder.”

You could hear sighs of relief and see tears coming from Van Newkirk’s family and friends.

“On the one hand you want to shed a tear,” Van Newkirk’s brother Shawn Dayton said. “On the other hand you want to party.”

You could also hear an emotional Bradley as he addressed the jury with a shaky voice.

“I would just like to thank the jury for their time that they put into this and for everyone else involved,” Bradley said.

Van Newkirk’s mom Roberta Lewis also thanked the jury, but she said she is still waiting for something else.

“Well, it’s justice for Shannon I hope and I was kind of hoping he might give her up, but he didn’t,” Lewis said. “I still have hope we’re going to find her.”

David said it is not over yet.

“This is down the road of where we need to be, but we’re not yet at the destination,” David said. “The destination will be when we bring Shannon home.”

In the meantime, bradley will begin serving his 30-37 year sentence while awaiting his next murder trial for the woman detectives found buried while searching for Van Newkirk. Bradley faces the death penalty in that trial after he was charged for the death of Elisha Tucker. That trial has not been set yet.

Bradley’s defense attorneys have filed an appeal for Van Newkirk’s trial.