Poker champion admits killing wife in 1997

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GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colo., Feb. 20 (UPI) -- A British poker champion faces 20 years in a U.S. prison for killing his wife in 1997 in Colorado.

Marcus Bebb-Jones of Kidderminster pleaded guilty Friday in Glenwood Springs to second-degree murder in the heat of passion, The Denver Post reported. Under his plea agreement, he faces a maximum of 20 years when he is sentenced May 1.

Sabrina Bebb-Jones, 31, vanished in 1997. At the time, she and her husband were operating a hotel in Grand Junction, Colo.

Bebb-Jones said his wife had walked out on him after a fight. A rancher discovered her skull in 2004 in Douglas Pass, about 60 miles north of Grand Junction.

By that time, Bebb-Jones had returned to England, where he became a professional poker player and won several championships. Immediately after his wife's disappearance, he went to Las Vegas with his 3-year-old son and went on a spending spree, including the rental of a Ferrari.