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Burlington County man gets 15 years for fatal baseball bat beating

Bryan Costello gets 15 years in prison after admitting he fatally beat an acquaintance with a baseball bat in Lumberton, New Jersey. The killer's brother, Chris, faces trial on aggravated manslaughter in July. The two men allegedly buried the body in their backyard.

Bryan Costello (left) who was sentenced in a fatal baseball bat beating, and his brother, Christopher Costello, who faces trial in the case
Bryan Costello (left) who was sentenced in a fatal baseball bat beating, and his brother, Christopher Costello, who faces trial in the case Read moreCourtesy of Lumberton Police
    by Jan Hefler
    Published 

A 26-year-old Lumberton man was sentenced to 15 years in state prison for beating an acquaintance to death with a baseball bat and burying his body in his backyard.

Bryan Costello will have to serve at least 85 percent of his term before he will be eligible for parole.  Last month, he admitted to first-degree aggravated manslaughter charges in the 2016 death of Justin DuBois, 23, of  West Windsor, N.J.

During his plea hearing before Superior Court Judge Jeanne Covert, Costello said that he killed DuBois with the bat, and that he and his brother, Christopher, buried the body behind the home they shared with their father, Robert, on Spencer Court.

Christopher Costello, 29, faces retrial in July after a jury deadlocked on a charge of aggravated manslaughter in the death of DuBois and convicted him of hindering prosecution and desecration of human remains.

DuBois was killed between last Oct. 27 and Nov. 3,  according to an indictment that charged the brothers with the fatal beating.