LUBBOCK, Texas — Carlos Rodriquez, 29, pleaded guilty to the 2013 murder of 18-year-old Zoe Campos on Monday.
It was an open plea, meaning a deal was not made with prosecutors.
In 2018, while in jail on an unrelated charge, Rodriquez confessed to killing Campos. He was then charged with her murder. Zoe Campos murder confession will not get thrown out, judge rules
Campos disappeared in 2013 and was considered a missing person until 2018, when her body was found buried in the backyard of a house Rodriquez previously lived in.
In his confession, Rodriquez said he strangled her until she died on November 18, 2013, according to court documents.
Court documents said Rodriquez was a person of interest in her death since 2017.
The sentencing trial was expected to follow the guilty plea. A jury had been chosen for his trial, which will be the same jury that hears evidence and determines his punishment.
