Colorado man pleads guilty to oil patch murder

SIDNEY — A Colorado man pleaded guilty Wednesday to the murder of a Montana teacher in an oil boom town where residents say their lives were forever altered by the crime.

Montana District Judge Richard Simonton accepted Michael Keith Spell's guilty plea on a count of deliberate homicide. A charge of attempted kidnapping was dropped as part of a deal with prosecutors.

Spell testified that Sherry Arnold, 43, was killed when he and an accomplice tried to abduct the Sidney High School math teacher while she was out for a pre-dawn jog in January 2012. He said Arnold struggled when he tried to drag her into their vehicle and that she ultimately lost consciousness.

Spell, who is mentally disabled, said he and accomplice Lester Van Waters Jr. smoked large amounts of crack cocaine leading up to the attempted abduction. Spell appeared unable Wednesday to recall events in detail.

"I'm not sure who killed her. It could have been either one," he said. "All I can say is I'm sorry and ashamed of what I did."

Details in Thursday's Havre Daily News.