Idaho man pleads guilty to murder charges in woman’s killing

LEWISTON, Idaho (AP) - An Idaho man has pleaded guilty to first-degree murder after backing out of an earlier plea deal in a case involving the death of a 32-year-old woman in 2018.

Cole Marcell, 25, of Kamiah, Idaho, entered the guilty plea Monday, and faces up to life in prison for the death of Sarah Warden of Clarkston, Washington, the Lewiston Tribune reported.

Marcell was originally scheduled to plead guilty to the charge in October, but objected to the word premeditated and opted for a jury trial scheduled for June instead, prosecutors said. The newspaper did not indicate why Marcell changed his mind again.

The guilty plea, which included the word premeditated, means there will be no jury trial.

Marcell orchestrated the killing in an effort to steal from Warden for drug money, prosecutors said. Three people, including Gabriel Mattingly and Amanda Jones, were implicated in her death.

Mattingly was sentenced to five to 15 years in prison for concealing the killing and Jones was sentenced to at least 15 years after she pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.

"This is the first step in the process of bringing some amount of closure to the family and friends of Sarah Warden," Nez Perce County Prosecuting Attorney Justin Coleman said. "With this resolution we have ensured that there will be no appeals, while also being able to argue in the range of a reasonable and likely sentence."

It is unclear when Marcell will be sentenced.