Suspect pleads guilty in 1982 Carbondale killing

MURPHYSBORO, Ill. (AP) -- A man with a long history of sexual misconduct has been sentenced to 40 years in prison after admitting he strangled a Southern Illinois University student in 1982.

Timothy Krajcir (KRY'-chur) pleaded guilty Monday in Jackson County Circuit Court to one count of murder. Prosecutors dropped three other murder counts as part of a plea deal.

Krajcir admitted he killed Deborah Sheppard, whose naked body was found on the floor of her Carbondale apartment.

Authorities say Krajcir was an SIU student when the 23-year-old senior marketing major from Olympia Fields died.

A review of the case led an investigator to a piece of DNA evidence linking Krajcir to the crime.

Krajcir is already incarcerated at the Big Muddy Correctional Center near Ina.