By: KDKA-TV News Staff

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - A man who said he slept with a shotgun and woke up to find a 3-year-old girl dead has pleaded guilty to murder.

The Allegheny County District Attorney's Office says Marlin Pritchard appeared in-person before a judge Tuesday morning and pleaded guilty to one count of third degree murder and one firearms violation in connection with the shooting death of a toddler.

Chassity Clancy was found dead inside a home on E. Warrington Avenue in Beltzhoover last February. She was found to have a gunshot wound to her neck while lying in a bed.

Pritchard told authorities he was sleeping next to Chassity and had a shotgun under his pillow, pointing in her direction. The gun went off, hitting the girl in the middle of the night and ultimately killing her.

Pritchard told investigators he slept with the gun because of threats from other people, authorities said. Investigators say he was not supposed to have a gun because he was convicted of felony charges in the past.

A sentencing hearing is scheduled for June 17.