Teen boy in Elko pleads guilty to first-degree murder

ELKO - One of two teens accused in the March 2011 slaying of a Nevada classmate has pleaded guilty in Elko to first-degree murder in a deal that will spare him the death penalty.

The Elko Daily Free Press reports 19-year-old Kody Cree Patten entered the plea Wednesday morning. He'd previously pleaded not guilty and was set for a July trial.

Patten and his then-girlfriend, Toni Fratto, were accused of the death of 16-year-old Micaela "Mickey" Costanzo.

Authorities say she was taken to a remote area near the Utah-Nevada border, where she was struck with a shovel and her throat was slit before she was buried in a shallow grave.

Fratto pleaded guilty to second-degree murder with a deadly weapon and was sentenced in April to up to life in prison.