Family struggles with plea agreement for man who killed, mutilated Sussex woman in 2019

A 35-year-old man who killed a Sussex County woman in 2019 then mutilated her body was sentenced to 20 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to manslaughter on Tuesday. 

A Sussex County Grand Jury indicted Joseph Beck on charges of first-degree murder, abusing a corpse and two other firearm-related charges after police found 34-year-old Tia Tucker's body dismembered and dumped on the side of a road near Bethel on March 9, 2019.

The murder charge carries a life in prison sentence, but to the dismay of Tucker's family, Beck was allowed to plead guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter, guaranteeing a lower prison sentence. 

"He only got 20 years," said Tucker's younger sister, Ashley Tucker. "That's not enough for somebody's life. How are we going to get justice for Tia?"

Allowing Beck to take a plea has also meant her family does not know why he killed the mother of two and then mutilated her. This included removing some of her tattoos, Tucker said. 

"We'll never have answers because he took a plea," Ashley Tucker told Delaware Online/The News Journal. "We will never know the real reason. That's my problem."

Just as upsetting to Ashley is that her sister will never get to enjoy her two children or meet her grandchild, who was born last year. 

"Tia now has a grandson that she will never see," Ashley Tucker said. "It's devastating that her daughter will never be able to pick out a wedding dress with her mom."

Arrest days before body found:Murder, mutilation suspect was arrested and released 2 days before body discovered

Extradition:Murder suspect accused of mutilating woman's body extradited to Delaware

For subscribers:Murder, mutilation suspect said he was with victim 12 hours before body was found

Tucker's mutilated body was found on the side of South Shell Bridge Road near Bethel. 

"The body also suffered numerous incised wounds caused by an unknown cutting instrument," according to a search warrant obtained by the newspaper. 

Members of the state police homicide unit met with Tucker's family three days after her body was found and learned no one had seen or spoken to her since March 7, according to court documents. 

A family member showed detectives texts with Tucker from March 5 and March 6 which said she'd left the motel where she'd been staying and was now with Beck and Allison Santee, who according to court records is identified as Beck's wife. 

Ashley Tucker said her sister went to stay with the couple to help care for Santee, who was having medical issues. The younger sister said her family and Tucker's family have been friends for years.

"You took your friend's life and for what?" Ashley Tucker said.

Homicide detectives interviewed Beck and Santee separately on March 12 and both said Tucker had been at their mobile home near Laurel, but that she left about 8 p.m. on March 8, according to court documents. 

Beck told police he was in the process of moving out because he had received a call from Tucker's family telling him she was dead and that call scared him into moving back to his mother's place in Bridgeville, according to court documents. 

Troopers returned to Beck's mobile home on March 13. The home was empty, except for a few items that included Tucker's credit cards on top of a TV inside the home.

There was also blood on a hallway, three feet above the floor. 

Beck was arrested that same day in Stafford County, Virginia, on charges he was drunk driving. He was extradited to Delaware on April 4, 2019. 

MORE TO READ:This father never expected to bury his son. But in Wilmington, 'this is the way it is'

Beck, who was originally scheduled to have a trial last year before the pandemic pushed back the date, had pleaded not guilty to the murder charge. Then on Tuesday, he pleaded guilty to manslaughter, abuse of a corpse and two weapons charges. 

In addition to incarceration, Superior Court Judge Craig A. Karsnitz also sentenced Beck to probation after he is released from prison. 

Ashley Tucker said the family was told on Monday about the plea, but were not given an explanation as to why prosecutors had agreed to allow Beck to plea to manslaughter, which in her eyes equates to an accident.

"Tia wasn't a person that you would think somebody would take her life," she said. "Tia was loved by a lot of people. She was not a bad person. She cared for people. I'm just not understanding." 

Contact Esteban Parra at (302) 324-2299, eparra@delawareonline.com or Twitter @eparra3.