Colorado Man Pleads Guilty In Utah Woman's 1970 Death

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — More than four decades after a young girl found her mother stabbed to death in eastern Utah, a 76-year-old Colorado man has pleaded guilty in her death.

Court records show Thomas Edward Egley of Rocky Ford pleaded guilty to a criminal homicide charge Tuesday. Egley was an original suspect in the 1970 death of 23-year-old Loretta Jones in Price, but a judge found there wasn't enough evidence against him and dismissed the case.

The investigation was reopened at the urging of her now-grown daughter, who was determined not to let her mother's death be forgotten. This time, police said Egley acknowledged his role in the slaying.

Egley faces at least 10 years and up to life in prison at a sentencing set for Nov. 22.

His lawyer did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

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