Tuesday, March 18, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
Larry Pizzichiello, 38, also was convicted Friday of felony evidence tampering for attempting to burn Brian Carreiro's body and for accountability to robbery for his role in the theft of Carreiro's pickup and $7,500 in ATM withdrawls from his bank account.
He faces up to life in prison. A sentencing date has not been sent.
Carreiro's mother reported him missing in August 1995, shortly after he left for Montana to go hunting with Pizzichiello on land owned by the family of co-defendant John Lynch.
The state Attorney General's office prosecuted the case after Lincoln County Attorney Charles Sprinkle resigned as part of a plea bargain in a domestic abuse case against him.
Pizzichiello and Lynch had long been suspects, but they were not charged until after Carreiro's burned remains were found last May near a cabin owned by Lynch's father. The remains, which also appeared to have been pulverized with rocks, included a gold-capped molar that a dental expert identified as Carreiro's.
A key prosecution witness, Las Vegas mechanic Gary Knight, testified that Lynch told him he shot Carreiro.
A 9mm pistol, believed to be the murder weapon, was found in a remote area outside of Las Vegas. It was registered to Lynch, but had not been reported stolen, despite the fact it was a fairly valuable gun.
Lynch's trial is scheduled to begin March 24.
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