A transient sex offender plead guilty to second-degree murder on Tuesday in the death of a Salinas woman.
In October. 2017, 30-year-old Shantel Evela Llamas was found strangled to death inside a room at the Motel 6 in north Salinas.
Police identified 52-year-old Richard Simmons as the person who checked into the room where llamas’ body was later found.
On Nov. 27 of last year, the department of justice confirmed a DNA match between evidence found inside the motel room and Simmons. That led to the murder charge, to which Simmons plead guilty on Tuesday.
Simmons will be sentenced on June 11, in Monterey Superior Court. He will receive a sentence of between 35 years and life in prison.
