NORMAN, Okla. (AP) -- An Oklahoma judge has put off deciding whether to accept a request by a man to plead guilty to first-degree murder in the 2014 beheading of a co-worker, as a death sentence would still be possible.
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Cleveland County District Judge Lori Walkley repeatedly asked 31-year-old Alton Nolen questions about whether he understood the charges stemming from the 2014 attack at the Vaughn Foods plant near Oklahoma City. She previously deferred deciding on his request during a February hearing, but said Friday she would have a decision in August.
Nolen said several times during Friday's hearing that he was guilty. He told Walkley he wants to plead guilty to three charges, including the first-degree murder charge in the death of 54-year-old Colleen Hufford.
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. They say Nolen had just been suspended from his job at the plant when he attacked Hufford, severing her head. They say he also stabbed another co-worker.
