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Judgment filed against inmate suspected in student's death

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A federal court has filed a default judgment in a wrongful death lawsuit against a Nebraska prison inmate suspected in the disappearance of a college student.

Online court records say a judge granted a motion Tuesday filed by the attorney for the family of Tyler "Ty" Thomas. The motion said defendant Joshua Keadle had failed to respond to the family's lawsuit.

Thomas was 19 when she disappeared days before Christmas in 2010 after leaving a party near the Peru State College campus. Keadle, who's serving a sentence for an unrelated 2008 rape case, has not been charged in Thomas' disappearance. Authorities have said he made several statements that led investigators to believe he was involved.

On July 28 the court dismissed the Nebraska State College Board from the lawsuit.

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