Garden City man pleads guilty to 1st degree murder

(GARDEN CITY, Kan.) — A Garden City city man accused of killing a 16-year-old girl pleads guilty to first degree murder.

Joaquin De Anda entered the plea Wednesday morning in Finney County Court. In exchange for the guilty plea to the murder charge, prosecutors dropped additional charges of rape and aggravated sodomy against De Anda.

De Anda was charged in the December 2008 murder of 16-year-old Julia Quintana. Her body was found in a dumpster behind De Anda's former home.

A date for sentencing has not yet been set in the case. The Finney County Attorney's office says De Anda's attorney requested a mental evaluation for his client through Larned State Hospital. A status check in the case is set for September 2.