A St. Joseph teen had pleaded guilty to murdering his grandparents.

Joseph “Joey” Johnson, 16 pleaded guilty Monday to two counts of second-degree murder in connection with the murder of his grandparents, James and Beverly Johnson, at their home on NE Hurlingen Road July 3.

Buchanan County Prosecuting Attorney Dwight Scroggins said a sentencing hearing has been scheduled for March 4th at 1:30 p.m. Scroggins said the range of punished is up to 10 years on each count to a max of life in prison on each count.

As we previously reported, Johnson was certified to stand trial as an Adult but the US Supreme Court has ruled that the death penalty imposed on underage defendants is unconstitutional. Under Missouri’s first-degree murder statute, that only leaves a sentence of life without parole for juveniles convicted of the crime. But the high court has also held that requiring life without parole, without some other sentencing option, is also unconstitutional.

Scroggins said Div. 3 Circuit Judge Patrick Robb has ordered a sentencing assessment report.