DALLAS, Feb. 26 (UPI) -- Prosecutors said the family of a 10-year-old Texas girl went along with a plea bargain for her accused killer on the eve of his trial.
Jose Sifuentens, 24, of Carrollton pleaded guilty Monday to the murder of Jasmen Gonzalez in exchange for a sentence that offered him a shot at parole in 30 years.
Sifuentes faced life without parole if convicted at trial. The Gonzalez family agreed to the deal, prosecutors said.
Jasmen was apparently kidnapped from her home in 2011 and found stabbed to death a short time later in the immediate area. Police arrested Sifuentes after the bloody murder weapon was found in his SUV, which was parked near the body.
The Dallas Morning News said Sifuentes was in court Monday to listen to a series of emotional statements from the victim's family.
"She was a daddy's girl and now I look at my dad and I see a huge chunk of his soul missing," Jasmen's 21-year-old sister, Ana, told the court. "He is miserable without her. We all are."
