A Co Tyrone man has pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of his girlfriend in New York.
Gary McGurk (24) admitted the first-degree manslaughter of Michelle Lee in her apartment in Queens on April 27th, 2009. He also pleaded guilty to three counts of tampering with physical evidence.
Police said Ms Lee (24), who worked as a forensic investigation officer with the New York City Police Department, had been stabbed in the throat, beaten in the head, bound with a cell phone charger cord and seared on the chest with a steam iron.
McGurk, with an address in Woodside, Queens, holds dual Irish and American citizenship. He was arrested on May 21st last year and has been held on Rikers Island without bail. He will be sentenced June 16th and faces a sentence of between 29 and 37 years in prison.
The couple met in 2004 at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, where they were studying to be forensic investigators.
Ms Lee's body was discovered by her roommate at their third-floor apartment in the Sunnyside neighborhood of Queens. She was found naked, tied to the bed with burn marks on her abdomen.
McGurk admitted tampering with her blood and sending a message to his own phone from her BlackBerry before taking it with him as he left the apartment, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said.
McGurk, who moved to the United States when he was about 10, had been charged with second-degree murder and had faced up to life in prison if convicted at a trial.