Robert "Gene" Pilcher finally pled guilty on Tuesday to the murder of a 17-year-old girl from Iowa who was found dead in a farmhouse back in 1974.

Pilcher has been a suspect throughout the investigation involving the brutal slaying of Mary Jayne Jones. 40 years later, during the second trial of his case on Tuesday, Pilcher finally pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.

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Pilcher, 68, was initially supposed to be leveled with a lifetime sentence in prison but due to a plea deal, it was agreed that he will be serving a ten-year sentence instead.

The accused's first trial was back in January, but it was declared an unfair trial due to jury members being unable to come to an undivided conclusion.

According to the judge who handled the case, Pilcher's sentence will be reduced as he was arrested back in 2012 and has been in prison since then. Also, his sentence will again be reduced if and when he executes good behavior inside.

The victim, Mary Jayne Jones, was last seen on April 9, 1974 at a bank in Ottumwa. Just hours later, her naked, bloody, and bruised body was found in a farmhouse that was miles away from the town.

She was in a bed when she was found and investigators believe she may have been sexually assaulted and beaten with a shotgun. Also, the autopsy revealed that she was shot twice with a rifle at a very close range.

Pilcher, who was 27 at the time, was suspected immediately because the farmhouse was owned by his cousin. The cousin was said to have been out of town when the incident occurred.

Also, four days prior to Jones' murder, another woman came forward alleging that she had been lured into the said farmhouse. She said that she was handcuffed and assaulted sexually.

As a result, Pilcher was charged with sodomy and perjury but investigators did not find any evidence to prove that he was actually the one who had killed Jones.

DNA tests were also run in 2010 in order to re-examined the semen on the blanket that was in the bed where Jones was found. Pilcher's lawyer countered this saying that it might have been there before and therefore not directly related to Jones' death, making it difficult to pin the murder on his client.

The prosecutors of the case believe that the incident was all based on sexual motivation since Pilcher was reportedly attracted to Jones.

When her younger sister, Judith, found out about Pilcher pleading guilty, she said that she was glad that the case was already closed. However, she noted that she wanted a heavier sentence for what Pilcher had done.

TagsIowa, Ottumwa, Farmhouse, pleaded guilty, second-degree murder, Robert Pilcher, Murder, sexual assault, farmhouse murder, 40 year old murder, 1974