MONTICELLO, Ind. (AP) _ A northern Indiana man scheduled to stand trial next week in the fatal stabbings of his mother and half-sister has pleaded guilty in that double-killing.
David Scott Rodenbarger pleaded guilty but mentally ill Friday to two counts of murder and one count of criminal confinement during a hearing in White Superior Court.
The 23-year-old Monticello man's plea halted preparations for his trial next week in the February 2013 killings of 41-year-old Michelle Haskins and 6-year-old Jillian Haskins.
The victims were fatally stabbed with a two-pronged meat fork and knife at the family's Monticello home about 30 miles north of Lafayette.
The Journal & Courier reports (http://on.jconline.com/1HYResh ) that Rodenbarger's plea deal calls for an 80-year sentence fully executed at a state prison. His sentencing is set for May 15.
