PASCAGOULA, Miss. (AP) — A Mississippi man has pleaded guilty to a murder charge after admitting he strangled his roommate and stuffed the body into an unplugged freezer in 2017.
A Jackson County grand jury indicted Thomas Stafford on a capital murder charge.
But, according to the Sun Herald, District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath says Stafford was allowed to plead to a reduced charge after prosecutors consulted the victim’s family.
Stafford admitted killing 65-year-old Jerry Kirkendall on March 3, 2017, at the home they shared in the Latimer community.
Stafford described Kirkendall as a friend and apologized to the court and to Kirkendall’s family.