FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WOWO): A Fort Wayne man has pleaded guilty to murdering his girlfriend, just before his trial was set to begin.

52-year-old David Lee Cortez Suel was set to start his murder trial yesterday, but the Journal Gazette reports that just before it began, he submitted a plea admitting that he stabbed 48-year-old Crystal Holmes to death inside their apartment last June.

Police say it happened after they got into an argument after leaving a party. Suel initially told police she had been stabbed in a robbery.

He’s facing anywhere from 45 to 65 years in prison and will be sentenced on July 2nd.