Man pleads guilty to beating girlfriend to death because of her drug use
A man who was angry about his girlfriend’s methamphetamine use has pleaded guilty to beating her to death in a Topeka apartment.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that 35-year-old Luke Anthony Wabaunsee pleaded guilty Monday to second-degree murder in the October 2018 killing of 42-year-old Michelle Stadler. He initially was charged with premeditated first-degree murder.
A detective testified at the preliminary hearing that Wabaunsee’s DNA was found on the handle of a bloody glass mug recovered from Stadler’s apartment.
Her neighbor, Shawn Cunningham, testified that Wabaunsee wanted her to quit using meth. Another neighbor, Marcia Paden, said she heard a man’s voice say he “wasn’t going to take it anymore.”
He sentencing is scheduled for October 3rd. He faces 12 to 54 years in prison.
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