SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A Utah man is pleading guilty to federal charges filed in a stunning string of crimes that included the slaying of a train worker and the kidnapping of a mother and her daughters.

Dereck James "DJ" Harrison was sentenced to life in federal prison Thursday after pleading guilty to carjacking and kidnapping.

The 23-year-old Harrison acknowledged helping his father Flint Harrison force train worker Kay Ricks into his truck in May 2016. The two used it to escape Salt Lake City for Wyoming, where Ricks was killed.

Flint Harrison later killed himself in jail.

A Ricks family spokesman said they're glad the case is coming to an end.

Grandmother Marlene Brown says DJ Harrison was an otherwise great kid who got caught up in a horrible crime under the influence of drugs.

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