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Suspect pleads guilty in 2009 Mo. triple homicide

CourtCAMDENTON, Mo. (AP) — One of four suspects in a triple homicide in southwest Missouri has pleaded guilty in the deaths.

Benjamin Stidham pleaded guilty Tuesday in the October 2009 deaths of a couple and a man who was dating their daughter. Stidham, who was 16 at the time of the crimes, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the death of Zachary Porter in Lebanon. He also pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Jeff and Glenda Smith at their home in Phillipsburg.

KYTV reports prosecutors dropped four other charges.

The Smiths were the parents and Porter the boyfriend of Miranda Smith, an ex-girlfriend of another defendant, Joshua Reyes. Reyes and Smith had two children. The three other suspects have pleaded guilty or were convicted of the crimes.

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