Former Navy SEAL admits to murder

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va., May 28 (UPI) -- A former U.S. Navy SEAL trainee testified Wednesday he alone strangled a woman 12 years ago.

Billy Joe Brown, 36, who is serving a prison sentence for the murder of Jennifer Evans, said his co-defendant, Dustin Turner, did not kill the woman, the Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch reported.

In 1996, Turner was sentenced to 82 years in prison and Brown to 72 years.

Brown said he's coming forward now because he is a born-again Christian and said he doesn't want to die a liar.

Turner's attorneys are trying to get him freed from prison. They have petitioned for release on the basis of a 2003 admission by Brown that he was solely responsible for the woman's death.

Wednesday's hearing was to weigh the credibility of Brown's admission, the newspaper said.