FAYETTEVILLE -- Eric Frankenhauser, 41, will serve life in prison after pleading guilty Thursday to first-degree murder of his girlfriend.
Frankenhauser shot Jessica Stewart in her front yard in August 2012 and fled to Ohio.
Prosecutor John Threet was seeking the death penalty in the case, and the trial was set to begin May 27. Frankenhauser's plea prevented the possibility of a jury recommending death, Threet said Friday.
"That's not rare that someone facing a possible death sentence from the jury will turn around and plea for life in prison," Threet said. Washington County Circuit Judge William Storey handed down the sentence.
"For what he did, dying in prison is what needs to happen to him," Threet added. "It's certainly something the victim's family is in agreement with. But nobody wins in this situation."
Police said a neighbor found 39-year-old Stewart in her yard on West Wedington Drive with a gunshot wound to the head. Stewart died the next day at Washington Regional Medical Center.
Witnesses told investigators Frankenhauser was following Stewart when she fell to a kneeling position. They said Frankenhauser reached her and shot her in the head before fleeing in Stewart's car.
Frankenhauser was later arrested walking down a rural road near Columbus, Ohio. He was possibly heading toward Philadelphia, his hometown, investigators said.
Thursday's plea ends a yearlong legal process. Frankenhauser's trial was delayed five times at the defense's request.
Frankenhauser had a mental evaluation in March to determine if he was competent to stand trial, understood the nature and consequences of the proceedings against him and could assist in his defense.
A doctor at the State Hospital said Frankenhauser suffers from recurrent major depressive disorder, which was in remission, and borderline personality disorder. Frankenhauser can conform his behavior to the law, the doctor concluded, and was fit to stand trial.
The doctor noted a history of Frankenhauser's relationships ending because of domestic abuse.
Frankenhauser reportedly confessed to killing Stewart to police. That confession would have been allowed at his trial.
Frankenhauser was being held Friday in the Washington County Detention Center.
NW News on 05/17/2014