Man Pleads Guilty To '05 Murder Of Mother, Toddler

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) -- Five years after a mother and her toddler were killed with a meat cleaver, a man has pleaded guilty to the crime to avoid the death penalty.

Sacramento resident Lalesh Kumar will likely spend the rest of his life behind bars for the murder of 33-year-old Virginia Pulido and her three-year-old boy Ramiro on the night of June 11, 2005.

Neighbors heard Pulido screaming for help as Kumar attacked her in her second-floor apartment in South Sacramento. Even Kumar's parents, who lived below the victims, tried to call for help.

Kumar attacked responding officers and shots were fired by police. The suspect was arrested a short distance from the apartment.

A year before Kumar's deadly rampage, he spent a week in the mental health ward. His parents say he had a history of mental illness.

The District Attorney's office says it agreed to the deal because of Kumar's mental health history and concerns that his past could have led to a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity.

Kumar's sentencing is scheduled to January 28.