OLYMPIA, Wash. - The former fugitive and aspiring country singer known as "Cowboy Mike" has been sentenced to nearly 48 years in prison for the rape and murder of a Lacey woman.

KGW

Michael "Cowboy Mike" Braae

Michael John Braae was convicted in May for the 2001 death of Lori Jones, 44. He was sentenced Thursday in Thurston County Superior Court.

Investigators linked him to his victim through DNA testing.

Braae was arrested in Idaho in 2001 after leading police on a 40-mile car chase, which ended when he jumped from a 40-foot-high bridge into the Snake River.

An Idaho sheriff's deputy testified that Braae was picked up by a police boat after trying to drown a police dog sent into the water to catch him.

Braae was serving time for assault in Idaho, but he's been held at the Washington state prison in Shelton during the murder trial.

Detectives say Braae is also suspected of killing up to three other women in the Northwest.