A Maine man was sentenced Thursday to life in prison after being convicted by a jury of first degree murder and related crimes in Ottawa County.

According to Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt 35-year-old Robert Willard Colson of Bucksport, Maine, was sentenced by Judge Rene Young to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 25 years.

In June, an Ottawa County jury found Colson guilty of one count of first-degree felony murder, two counts of felony theft and one count of burglary.

The charges stemmed from the 2017 death of Matthew Miles Schoshke in rural Ottawa County.

On Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017,  Schoshke’s body was discovered by a family member in his Tescott area home. Schoshke’s Ford F150 pickup truck was also stolen from the scene.

Authorities attempted various investigative methods to locate the missing truck and on Tuesday, Aug. 22, information was received that led them to believe the victim’s truck may have been located in the city of Los Angeles, California.

Kansas Bureau of Investigation agents and Ottawa County Sheriff Keith Coleman traveled to California. They collected evidence from the abandoned truck and were also able to identify Colson as the suspect.

KBI agents, the Sheriff, and Los Angeles Police Department homicide detectives were working to locate Colson, but prior to identifying his location he was involved in an incident at approximately 11:30 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 25 in Martinez, Calif. During this incident he allegedly stabbed a person while aboard an Amtrak train. Colson was attempting to escape from the train when he was injured. He was then transported to a regional hospital for medical treatment.

The case was investigated by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation and the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office with assistance from the Kansas Highway Patrol and law enforcement agencies in Maine, Colorado and California. Assistant Attorney General Jessica Domme of Schmidt’s office prosecuted the case with assistance from Ottawa County Attorney Richard Buck.