A Mississippi man pleaded guilty to murdering his estranged wife and was sentenced to life in prison.

Mike Brian Rutledge, 25, pleaded guilty Tuesday to capital murder in the 2017 kidnapping and death of 35-year-old Laura Ann Rutledge, news outlets reported.

Laura Rutledge’s family reported her missing and later Mike Rutledge admitted to killing her and dumping her body.

Rutledge said he grabbed his wife, tied her hands behind her back, and stabbed her multiple times before he hit her in the head with a stick.

Laura Rutledge’s body was found on July 27, 2017 in a wooded area close to her apartment.

She had been dead for several days.

The District Attorney’s Office said the cause of death was blunt force trauma and stab wounds to the head and upper body.

A judge denied Rutledge the possibility of parole.