EVERETT — More than two years after Luis Verduzco was found stabbed to death in Everett, the man accused of killing him has pleaded guilty to murder.
Derek Donnelly is scheduled to be sentenced next month for the April 23, 2012, slaying. He pleaded guilty Friday in Snohomish County Superior Court to a reduced charge of second-degree murder. He also admitted to witness tampering. He faces up to 35 years in prison.
Prosecutors alleged that Donnelly, 33, and two other people made plans to rob Verduzco under the ruse that they wanted to buy drugs from him.
The trio and Verduzco, 23, were riding around Everett, smoking meth. Donnelly was accused of stabbing Verduzco and pushing him from the Dodge Durango.
A witness later reported seeing a young man running down W. Madison Street with his face covered in blood. Verduzco’s body was discovered the next day. He’d been stabbed multiple times.
Donnelly still faces robbery charges in King County. He is accused of stabbing two women during a home invasion robbery in 2011.
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