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McVay sentenced to 45 years for Carrie Olson’s murder

Tim McVay was sentenced to 45 years in prison, plus four years of supervised release, for the murder of Carrie Olson.

Tim McVay was sentenced at 1 p.m. Friday, October 9, 2015, nearly three months after Rock Island County Judge Michael Meersman found McVay guilty of first degree murder and concealment of a homicidal death.

With the convictions handed to McVay, the Rock Island man facedup to 65 years in prison.

However, in an attempt to fight the ruling, McVay's attorneys filed a motion to have the convictions dismissed, just days before the sentencing. The motion and the prosecutor's response were heard before sentencing Friday.

Meersman denied the defense motions, saying most of the issues raised had either been addressed in previous hearings, or would be addressed by the appellate court if McVay appealed his conviction.

McVay's attorney has indicated he plans to appeal the conviction.

"The only way this thing gets tied together is through reasonable inferences," Meersman said.  "You have to take the reasonable inferences from the evidence and if they all tie together...you end up with a conviction."

In a statement on his own behalf, McVay denied killing Carrie Olson.  Olson's mother, Karen Olson, also spoke on behalf of her family at the hearing.

Related: What Carrie Olson’s mother said at Tim McVay’s sentencing

Related: During sentencing, Tim McVay denies killing Carrie Olson

Meersman sentenced McVay to 40 years, plus three years of supervised release, for the murder conviction; McVay was also sentenced to an additional, consecutive, five years in prison plus another year of supervised release for the concealment of a homicidal death.

Meersman said he was compelled to also let the public know what the sentence means.

"By my calculation, you will be at least 80 years old before you are eligible for parole in this state," Meersman said.

RELATED:  Timeline from the day Carrie Olson disappeared to now

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