Arizona man pleads guilty in 2003 slaying of woman

KINGMAN, Ariz. -- A northwest Arizona resident accepted a plea deal Wednesday in a February 2003 slaying instead of going to trial next week for first-degree murder.

Robert Dyer, 47, of Topock, pleaded guilty to the second-degree murder of Theresa Davis, 45, of Mohave Valley.

Prosecutor Victoria Stazio said Davis' body was found near a cemetery in a remote area of Mohave Valley the day after Dyer slashed her throat with a knife.

Dyer wasn't charged in the slaying until DNA evidence led to his arrest in August 2009. Stazio said some of Davis' blood was found on Dyer's watch.

A possible life sentence was reduced to 10 to 13 years in prison through the plea agreement. Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 10.