TECUMSEH, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska inmate charged in the strangulation death of his cellmate and now facing the death penalty has fired his attorneys and pleaded guilty to first-degree murder.
The Lincoln Journal Star reports that Patrick Schroeder entered the plea Friday, telling a judge that he wants to represent himself and drop his legal challenges to the death penalty.
Schroeder is charged in the April death of 22-year-old Terry Berry Jr. Prosecutors said Friday that Schroeder and Berry had been sharing a cell for less than a week when Berry was killed. Schroeder confirmed at the hearing that he had grown intolerant of Berry’s constant talking and strangled him with a towel.
Schroeder is already serving life for the 2006 killing of 75-year-old Pawnee City farmer Kenneth Albers.