DALLAS, Ore. (AP) — A 21-year-old Oregon man accused of killing his parents at their farm last summer has pleaded guilty to aggravated murder and agreed to testify against his co-defendant.
Polk County District Attorney Stan Butterfield says that in exchange for the testimony and Friday’s guilty pleas to two counts of aggravated murder, he will recommend that Andrew Thomas Jondle serve a minimum of 50 years in prison. Butterfield had earlier sought the death penalty.
David and Marilyn Jondle were killed Aug. 30, 2010, at their Dallas-area farm west of Salem, where they raised free-range cattle and poultry.
The Statesman Journal says prosecutors alleged that Andrew Jondle and his girlfriend Cindy Lou Beck plotted to rob and kill the elder Jondles because the pair needed money and wanted to inherit the farm. Andrew Jondle also pleaded guilty to burglary.
