IBERIA (AP) – A southwest Missouri man will spend life in prison without parole in the stabbing death of a 13-year-old girl.

Miller County prosecutors say 31-year-old Steven Henderson of Iberia avoided the death penalty by pleading guilty Friday to first-degree murder in the June 2013 death of Macala Shelton.

KYTV reports Macala’s body was found on an unused farm a few miles from a home she lived in with Henderson and other relatives.

A probable cause statement filed in the case said Henderson admitted killing the girl with a large survival knife.

Henderson is the brother of Macala’s stepfather. She had moved to Iberia with her stepfather and siblings when her mother was deployed by the military.