Guilty Plea In Sexual Homicide For Cold Case Project's 100th Case

DENVER (CBS4) - A man accused in a sexual homicide cold case in Denver has pleaded guilty.

According to the district attorney's office, Hector Bencomo-Hinojos, 55, pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree murder and one count of first-degree kidnapping.

Bencomo-Hinojos was originally charged with first-degree murder and other charges in the death of 32-year old Patricia Beard in 1981. His plea dismissed the first-degree murder counts.

He agreed to be sentenced to 48 years in prison in the deal.

"The case, filed in 2013, was marked by being the 100th case filed in the Cold Case Project," the district attorney's office said in a statement.

Bencomo-Hinojos will be sentenced on June 8.