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31-year-old Dylan J. Hanger, who is from Mountain View, Missouri, pled guilty to one count of second-degree murder in the killing of his then-estranged wife, Brittany Gorman, 29, in May 2022.
On Tuesday, February 14, 2023, a U.S. District Judge sentenced Hanger to 21 years and 10 months in federal prison without parole for killing Gorman during an argument when they met in a national park.
Prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Josephine L. Stockard, the Texas County, Missouri, Sheriff’s Department, the National Park Service Investigative Services Branch, and the Missouri State Highway Patrol all worked together to investigate the case.
Dylan J. Hanger reportedly had an alibi for the murder of Brittany Gorman
On May 20, 2020, Dylan J. Hanger met his estranged wife, Brittany Gorman, at the Buck Hollow Access Area, along the Jacks Fork River, which was located within the Ozark National Scenic Riverways in Texas County. However, the couple started arguing upon meeting each other, after which Hanger brutally stabbed Gorman in the chest multiple times.
According to a press release by the Department of Justice, court documents showed that Hanger started planning to murder his wife in the months leading up to May 2020. In addition, a federal sentencing memorandum obtained by PEOPLE mentioned that Dylan J. Hanger told a friend that he was planning to kill his wife and even had a "day and time" figured out. The memorandum read:
"In March 2020, he explored buying a firearm, but did not want to type into Facebook why he wanted it."
On May 20, 2020, authorities reported that Dylan J. Hanger met Brittany Gorman at a convenience store. As per court records, he said that he put gas in her truck. Following this, he gave her a $2,000 check, which he knew would bounce for her part of their stimulus money.
The same month, McClatchy News reported that Hanger and Gorman argued about their children and their federal stimulus check when they met in the Buck Hollow Access Area. While there, Hanger stabbed his wife at least four times. Following this, he dumped her body at an isolated trailhead in the Mark Twain National Forest.
For nine days following the murder, Hanger told Gorman's family and law enforcement that she was missing and that it was because of her drug connections.
The Kansas City Star reported that court records state that Dylan J. Hanger secured his alibi with a friend. In a federal sentencing memorandum, it was mentioned:
“In early May, he tried out an alibi. At some point, he removed the knife he later used to kill his wife from his home.”
On May 30, 2020, Hanger finally confessed to crime and disclosed the location of Gorman's body.
Brittany Kay Gorman was born on September 15, 1990, in Houston, Missouri, and shared three children, aged 5, 7, and 10 years old, with Dylan J. Hanger.
Gorman's obituary by the Wilson Mortuary mentions that she was a stay-at-home mom who enjoyed raising her children, Annemarie, Mary, and Thomas. The obituary read:
"Brittany will be remembered as a loving mother, daughter, sister and friend. Her beautiful smile will never be forgotten."
Funeral Services for Brittany Gorman were held on June 6, 2020, at the Shannondale Community Church, where she was buried in the Patterson Cemetery.
