HILLSBORO, Ohio (AP) — A 19-year-old southwest Ohio manaccused of killing his 5-year-old niece
pleaded guilty to aggravatedmurder Monday and was sentenced to life in prison with a chance ofparole under a
plea deal.Matthew Pierson entered the plea inHighland County at a hearing originally scheduled to consider
whetherhis confession could be used in court.Felony charges of evidencetampering and corpse abuse were
dismissed under the agreement. Hissentence allows for possible parole after 25 years.Jada BethWilliams
suffered blunt trauma to the head, and her body was found lastAugust in a plastic container in a garage at
the Jackson Township homewhere she and Pierson and her grandmother had lived for a short time,authorities
said. The grandmother reported finding the body a day afterthe slaying.County Prosecutor Anneka Collins said
Pierson confessed but never indicated a clear motive for the killing.TheTimes-Gazette of Hillsboro reported
that Pierson was asked in court ifhe had any comment before sentencing and gave a reply that added to
themystery: "Well, I didn’t do this because I wanted to. I did it becausehe made me do
it."Pierson’s attorneys said afterward that theyweren’t sure what he meant by that, the newspaper
reported. They saidthe case against Pierson was strong and the plea deal was in his bestinterest.Collins
told the newspaper that the plea deal helped avert the uncertain outcome of a trial."People do
sympathize with him," she said. "You never know for sure. This way we have a guaranteed
outcome."___Information from: Times-Gazette, http://www.timesgazette.comCopyright 2013 The
Associated Press.
