THORNTON, Colo. — A man pleaded guilty Wednesday in the killing of his 21-year-old girlfriend in 2018, officials announced.
Jonathan Eugene Akin, 23, was charged with second-degree murder in the stabbing death of Autumn Rivera at their apartment on East 104th Avenue in Thornton on Nov. 25, 2018, police said.
Akin faces 25-40 years in prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced on April 29.
After the killing, Akin put Rivera's body in the trunk of her car and drove to Powell, Wyo., where he walked into the local police department and told officers that he killed Rivera, according to prosecutors. Officers found Rivera's body wrapped in a blanket in the trunk.
Akin initially fought extradition to Colorado but later agreed to be returned.
According to an arrest warrant, Akin told authorities he killed Rivera in Thornton, but he did not remember how because he had "blacked out." Akin then drove to Wyoming and spent the night at his mother's house in Deaver.
Katelyn Neuhold, Rivera's best friend, told Denver7 in November 2018 that Akin and Rivera were fighting after getting kicked out of a club when things spiraled out of control.