Dancehall artist Vybz Kartel sentenced to life in prison for murder

Jamaican dance hall star Adidja Azim Palmer popularly known as Vybz Kartel has been sentenced to life in prison for the murder of a former business associate named Clive "Lizard" Williams.

Jamaica's supreme court sentenced Kartel today April 3rd after a 58-day trial, said to be the longest in the history of Jamaica's Circuit court. The musician's 3 other associates, Shawn Campbell, Kahira Jones and Andre St. John were also sentenced to life in prison.

The four men are accused of killing Clive after inviting him to Kartel's home to discuss two missing illegal hand guns. Though a body has never been found, the key piece of evidence that nailed Vybz was a text message that he sent from his phone which claimed 'Clive had been chopped up into so many pieces his body would never be found."

Kartel will not be eligible for parole until he serves 35 years of his life sentence. His lawyers are planning to appeal his sentence. Meanwhile, Vybz has been in prison since 2011 after he was arrested for possession of marijuana, illegal possession of firearm and the murder of a Jamaican businessman, Barrington Burton. Though he was later found not guilty and was acquitted of the charge of murder of Burton, he remained in prison pending his second murder case which started in November 2013.