Man pleads guilty in girlfriend’s killing

A 21-year-old Las Vegas man who beat his girlfriend in the head with a hammer during an argument in 2007 pleaded guilty Wednesday to a murder charge.

Jorge Witrago faces a minimum of 20 years in jail and a maximum of life imprisonment. District Court Judge David Barker is scheduled to sentence Witrago on July 14.

When Barker asked Witrago whether he killed Wendy Garcia, his girlfriend and mother of his child, Witrago said confidently: "Yes I did your honor." His attitude contrasted with his demeanor at his preliminary hearing, when he shook and wept during a detective's testimony.

Las Vegas police said Witrago hit Garcia in the head eight times with a hammer during an argument on April 21, 2007.

Witrago then used the gas stove to light a rag and tossed the blazing cloth into the bedroom at the couple's West Las Vegas duplex.

Witrago initially laid beside Garcia, but when smoke filled the room, he grabbed their 1-year-old daughter and left the home. The Clark County coroner's office determined that Garcia inhaled soot, which means she might have been alive when the home was burning.

Investigators said at the preliminary hearing that the smoke and flames did not hide the blood splattered about the bedroom.

The couple's young daughter was placed in the custody of Garcia's brother.