A Niagara Falls teenager has pleaded guilty to last year's killing of a 5-year-old girl whom he was babysitting. John Freeman, of Sixth Street, told police he put his hands on the neck of Isabella Tennant of Cheektowaga on August 26, 2012 because she wouldn't stop crying.
The guilty plea was unexpected, as attorneys had been discussing a possible mental health defense at his scheduled trial on August 19.
Freeman, who is 17, entered guilty pleas to second-degree murder and tampering with physical evidence, as the girl's body was dumped into a garbage tote.
Freeman's co-defendant, 18-year-old Tyler Best of Buffalo, faces a felony count of tampering with physical evidence when his trial begins August 19.
Tenant's mother, Crystal Walker, had dropped her daughter off at the residence before going to work.
Freeman faces 20 years-to-life in prison when he is sentenced on September 5.
