The body of Elizabeth Shelley, known as Lizzy, was found in buried in leaves in woods five days after she vanished in May this year.
The youngster had been stabbed to death.
She was last seen at her home in Utah on May 25. Her uncle Alexander William Whipple, 21, had been staying with her and his sister, Lizzy’s mother.
When her family woke up in the morning, their front door was open and both the little girl and her uncle were missing. A police search was launched.
Hours later, police found Whipple walking alone and took him to a police station. His niece’s blood was discovered on his sweatshirt and watch, and a kitchen knife, police said.
Yesterday, Whipple pleaded guilty to aggravated murder, child kidnapping, rape of a child and sodomy of a child.
Whipple is set to escape the death penalty after officials in Logan, Utah, said they would not seek it. The move was part of a bargain that saw Whipple provide a map of where to find Lizzy’s body, the Salt Lake Tribune reported.
He is sent to be sentenced on September 24.
