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Murder Trial Ends with Guilty Plea

(KNZA)--The jury trial for a St. Joseph man charged in the stabbing death of a man last April unexpectedly ended before the first full day of testimony was slated to begin Wednesday morning.

The St. Joseph News Press reports that came after the attorney for 22-year-old Primalton Peterson informed the judge that his client wished to plead guilty to all charges against him—including first-degree murder, armed criminal action and abandonment of a corpse.

Sentencing was set for March 7th.

The trial for Peterson began Tuesday in a Buchanan County courtroom.

Peterson was among three charged in the stabbing death of 28-year-old Richard Berry, whose body was found in Third Fork of the Platte River near Easton, Missouri on April 25th.  Authorities believe Berry was taken to the remote location in a robbery attempt, and then stabbed multiple times and dumped into the river.

Also charged in the case were 44-year-old Kelli Hoard, of Elwood, Kansas and 25-year-old Sean Liechti, of St. Joseph.  Hoard was sentenced last month to 20 years in prison on a charge of second-degree murder for her role in the death and Liechti was sentenced in October to ten years in prison on the same charge.

 

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