MOBILE, Ala. (AP) - A worker at a south Alabama group home this week pleaded guilty to murder for the 2018 stomping death of an autistic man.
Court records show that Trent Yates pleaded guilty to murder Wednesday and was sentenced to 25 years in prison for the 2018 death of Matthew Cox, 21. Cox lived in the group home where Yates worked. Investigators said in court filings that Yates stomped on Cox's abdomen causing injuries that led to his death.
Yates had initially entered a plea of not guilty, but later changed his plea to guilty.
FOX10 reported that Yates, who entered his guilty plea through a video feed, said, "Sorry" when the judge asked him if he wanted to say anything.
Family members told the station that Cox had the mental capacity of a 4-year-old.
A 2018 obituary described Cox as an "angel in human clothing who loved country music, Alabama football, macaroni and cheese and to sing."
"Matthew loved everyone and everyone loved Matthew. His entire life was marked by the innocence and affection that only a child can have," the obituary read.