US Marine gets life sentence for killing Vegas prostitute

HONOLULU — The U.S. Marine Corps Pacific commander has approved the life sentence recommended by a court martial for a former U.S. Marine who murdered a Las Vegas prostitute in Hawaii, a spokesman said Tuesday.

The military court found Nathaniel Cosby, a former Master Sergeant, guilty in April of murdering Ivanice “Ivy” Harris, 29, who was last seen alive outside a Waikiki bar on May 16, 2013.

Her body was found four days later. A social media page set up by friends after she disappeared identified Harris as a Las Vegas prostitute who was visiting Hawaii.

The military jury recommended in April that Cosby serve a life sentence in prison, and that he be dishonorably discharged.

A military spokesman said the U.S. Marine Corps Pacific commander, Lieutenant General Terry Robling, directed last week that “the sentence as adjudged is approved.”

The case will now be sent for appellate review to the Navy-Marine Corps Court of Military Review in Washington, D.C, which is standard for any case involving a dishonorable discharge.

Cosby is detained at the U.S. Military Disciplinary Barracks in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, which is the only maximum security correctional facility in the Department of Defense.