Pro MMA fighter Andrew Osborne was sentenced to 25 years in state prison Thursday after he pleaded guilty to first-degree aggravated manslaughter, according to the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office (N.J.) .
Osborne, 35, admitted he stabbed 47-year-old Brian Wilkinson to death inside an Atlantic City, N.J. hotel room. He must serve at least 85 percent of his sentence in New Jersey State Prison (N.J.S.P.) before potential supervised release.
According to the criminal complaint, which cites the hotel’s lock report, Wilkinson’s door was opened just before 7am the morning of his murder, with the deadbolt engaged to keep it from closing, according to NJ.com. Ten minutes later, security footage captured the former MMA fighter exiting an elevator on Wilkerson’s floor at 7:09am.
The door closed two minutes later and opened again at 7:30am, according to the hotel’s lock report, per NJ.com. Security footage captured him returning to his room with a black bag — Osborne and his wife then went to the parking garage just minutes later and left the hotel.
Osborne checked in just hours before the murder, while Wilkin0son checked in the night before. His body was discovered at 1:30pm the day of his murder, NJ.com reports.
Police say Osborne and his wife went back to their home of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania before police arrested the ex-MMA fighter three days later.
Wilkerson was from Galloway, New Jersey, according to his obituary. The 47-year-old worked for a construction company until becoming a bookkeeper in 2008. He also attended a local Lutheran church.
“Brian’s death was very tragic and sudden and will be sadly missed by everyone that knew him,” his obituary reads.
The full statement from the prosecutors:
Philadelphia Man Sentenced on Aggravated Manslaughter Charge in 2022 Death of Egg
Harbor Twp. Resident
MAYS LANDING, NJ – On Thursday, August 22, 2024, Andrew Osborne, 35, of Philadelphia, PA, was sentenced by the Honorable Bernard E. DeLury, Jr., P.J.Cr., to 25 years N.J.S.P. for first-degree Aggravated Manslaughter where he must serve 85% of his sentence under the No Early Release Act before being eligible for parole in the stabbing death of Brian Wilkinson, 47, of Egg Harbor Township inside a hotel room at the Ocean Casino in Atlantic City on September 23, 2022.
On May 30, 2024, during his guilty plea colloquy, Osborne admitted stabbing Wilkinson to death inside Wilkinson’s hotel room. After the incident, Osborne fled with his wife back to Philadelphia where detectives from the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office’s Major Crimes Unit with assistance from the Philadelphia Police Department located Osborne and arrested him.
The Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office’s Major Crimes Unit along with the Atlantic City Police Department investigated this incident with assistance from the Philadelphia Police Department.Assistant Prosecutor Elizabeth White represented the State in this case.
Authorities previously stated in court documents (via NJ.com) that Osborne entered Wilkinson’s hotel room at 7:11 a.m. local time and exited at 7:30 a.m. Osbourne allegedly left Wilkinson’s hotel room wearing his shoes and pants. Wilkinson’s body was found at 1:30 p.m. local.
Osborne competed in 20 professional MMA fights, including one World Series of Fighting (WSOF) bout, a 2013 loss to Ozzy Dugulubgov. His pro career stretched from 2011 to 2017, during which he compiled a 7-11-1 record with one no contest.
He will be sentenced in August.
