MARION COUNTY — The last of five defendants in the 2019 murder of an East St. Louis man at a rural Central City home has pleaded guilty and been sentenced.

Krystal Scerba pleaded guilty Wednesday in Marion County Court to a Class 2 felony charge of robbery in exchange for a first-degree murder charge being dismissed.

The 31-year-old Centralia woman was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison for her role in the December 3, 2019, shooting death of 39-year-old Clendar Edmund.

According to court records, Scerba and 29-year-old Blake Shahan brought Edmund to the Green Street Road home of 53-year-old Cardell Thomas at the direction of 27-year-old Mantez Duncan.

After Duncan and 28-year-old Darleedria Flippen arrived at Thomas’ home, Flippen was given a black bag with a large amount of cash that had earlier been taken from Edmond.

Edmond was then allegedly taken at gunpoint into the garage of the home where he was forced to kneel on a blue tarp Scerba had been directed to spread out on the floor.

As he begged for his life, Edmond was asked for the location of other cash. He gave Duncan a location and that information was then given to Flippen who was told to find the money. When she was unsuccessful in locating the cash, Duncan shot Edmond multiple times.

Duncan and Shahan then reportedly rolled Edmond’s body up in the tarp, loaded it into the back of Thomas’ truck and took the body out to the woods where it was covered with brush and gasoline and set on fire.

Duncan pleaded guilty last month to first-degree murder and was sentenced to 55-years in prison, while Flippen pleaded guilty a few days later to robbery and was sentenced to six years in prison.

Thomas pleaded guilty a few weeks later to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 20-years in prison and Shahan pleaded guilty Tuesday to first-degree murder and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.