A Detroit man will spend 10 years in prison for a 1998 killing that went unsolved until recently.

Lawrence County prosecutor J.B. Collier Jr. said Joseph Spivey, 36, pleaded guilty Tuesday to voluntary manslaughter in connection with the death of Darnell Foster, also of Detroit. The plea was made before Lawrence County Common Pleas Judge Frank McCown.

Foster died Jan. 5, 1998 of a single gunshot wound to the chest. The shooting occurred in the early morning hours at a home on Lawrence Street Road. Foster was taken to River Valley Health System in a private automobile.

Collier said the death was drug related. It had gone unsolved until recently because many of the witnesses were drug addicts, and were not reliable for that reason. A more credible witness provided information earlier this year that led to Spivey's indictment.

Collier said the Lawrence County Sheriff's Office had renewed its efforts to solve the case, and the hard work paid off.

"I can't say enough good things about Tim Sexton and his office," Collier said. "It took a lot of going back and revisiting stale evidence, a lot of hard work." Teresa Moore/The Ironton Tribune