By Associated Press - Monday, April 24, 2017

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - A man arrested earlier this year in the 1977 killing of a Salt Lake City teen has taken a plea deal that allows him to avoid the death penalty.

The Deseret News reports (https://bit.ly/2oZk2i1 ) that 59-year-old Patrick McCabe pleaded guilty Monday to second-degree murder and aggravated burglary. A sexual assault charge was dismissed.

He will face a five years to up to life in prison when he’s sentenced on June 12.



McCabe of Bell, Florida, was arrested in early March - nearly 40 years after Sharon Schollmeyer’s mother found her emancipated daughter naked, blindfolded and gagged in her bathtub. An autopsy determined the 16-year-old died from strangulation and suffocation. Authorities say McCabe, the building manager, raped her.

The judge asked McCabe what he was thinking when he went to the apartment. McCabe said: “To rape Ms. Schollmeyer.”

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Information from: Deseret News, https://www.deseretnews.com

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