UPDATE: THURSDAY 8/31/2023 10:59 a.m.

(EL PASO COUNTY, Colo.) — On Thursday, Aug. 31 4th Judicial District Judge William Bain sentenced Joel Hollendorfer to 24 years behind bars, with 571 days served, after being convicted in June 2023 of killing 19-year-old Kara Nichols, whose case was unsolved for nearly a decade.

ORIGINAL STORY: Justice for Kara Nichols, Sentencing Thursday

THURSDAY 8/31/2023 9:52 a.m.

After more than a decade since 19-year-old Kara Nichols was reported missing, the man convicted of killing her will be sentenced to prison today, on Thursday, Aug. 31.

Earlier this year, a jury found Joel Hollendorfer guilty of manslaughter on Thursday, June 22. In July, prosecutors proved Hollendorfer as a habitual offender, increasing his possible sentence to 24 years behind bars.

Today, friends and family of Nichols will be speaking in court, as Hollendorfer awaits his official sentence.

Nichols was reported missing on Oct. 14, 2012, and her case went unsolved for nearly a decade, until a tip from Hollendorfer’s ex-wife led investigators to Nichols’ body in 2022, at a property in Black Forest where Hollendorfer and his parents lived for years.

FOX21’s Rhea Jha will be in the courtroom today and will provide updates on this story.