KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A Knox County jury has already given John Bassett a life sentence with no chance for parole in the killing of his former girlfriend.
On Thursday, Knox County Criminal Court Judge Scott Green tacked on another 18 years.
Green said Bassett had lied to police about Kyle's whereabouts after the 2021 killing and also lied to jurors when he took the stand in his own defense during his May trial.
"You are clearly a person who does not need to be out of custody ever again," the judge said.
Kyle's family and friends harshly condemned Bassett for taking Kyle from them.
"Our family chain is broken forever," Kyle's aunt Rita Turner declared.
Bassett shot and killed Kyle in June 2021 in her Knoxville apartment. He cleaned her place of blood and drove her wrapped corpse to a deceased family member's home on Sam Tillery Road. He hid the victim there in a crawl space.
He told no one what he'd done, even after Kyle's friends and family begged him to come clean. Kyle and Bassett had had a stormy relationship, making him a prime suspect in her disappearance.
As the community searched for Kyle, Bassett remained mum. Investigative work eventually led Knoxville police in September 2021 to the home on Sam Tillery Road.
At the time of the murder, Bassett was serving a 10-year term on probation for a drug conviction.
Green on Thursday revoked the inmate's status and ordered him to serve that in addition to the life sentence.
At trial, jurors also convicted Bassett of abusing Kyle's corpse and tampering with evidence after killing her.
Green agreed with prosecutor Rachel Hill that Bassett should serve the maximum amount of time for those crimes in the longest manner possible.
He imposed 6-year and 2-year terms for those crimes and said Bassett should serve those in addition to life without parole.
He's appealing his convictions. He and defense attorney Josh Hedrick likely will face that hearing in the spring before Green.
Bassett, 31, is an inmate at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville.
