FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) — A man accused of killing a Fort Collins mother, whose body was found in a lake, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder.
The Coloradoan reports Jeffrey Etheridge pleaded guilty Monday to the murder of Heather "Helena" Hoffmann. The guilty plea was part of an agreement that dismissed the other charges against him and guaranteed he would not face the death penalty.
In addition to the murder charge, Etheridge had been charged with second-degree kidnapping, sexual assault and tampering with a deceased human body.
Etheridge says he would be discredited in trial because of his past. Etheridge is a registered sex offender who was convicted in Kentucky in May 2013 of possession of material depicting sexual acts by a minor. He initially failed to register when he moved to Colorado in March.