A Gaston County man has pleaded guilty to killing and dismembering his wheelchair-bound roommate.
Brian Hord is charged with first-degree murder for the death of Richard Gentry.
Investigators said he beat his 68-year-old roommate to death, and then cut him up in an effort to hide the body.
Hord said nothing before accepting a plea to avoid the death penalty.
"Are you in fact guilty?" the judge asked.
"Yes, sir," Hord said.
Hord has always admitted to killing his wheelchair-bound roommate with a hammer, then chopping the body into pieces with a hand saw.
On Tuesday, more details were released about the roommate arrangements.
Defense attorney Victoria Jayne said the victim Gentry, 68, was horrible to Hord.
Jayne described abuse in the home as "harassments and threats and insults."
District attorney Locke Bell said Hord was once married with a son, but found himself homeless and struggling with mental disorders.
The D.A. said Gentry, who had an apartment, took advantage of that.
"The victim demanded certain physical acts by the defendant," Bell said.
Bell said Hord confided in his ex-wife and in the weeks leading up to the murder and told her repeatedly that he wanted to kill his roommate.
Then in August she got a phone call.
"I have done it. I have killed the victim," Hord told her.
She called 911.
"He actually mentioned it before, about doing it. He said he's just not gotten up the courage to do it," she told the 911 dispatcher.
Hord let police into the home, where they found Gentry's remains in bags.
But because of the abuse Hord suffered at the hands of the victim the D.A. had to make a tough choice.
"I do not believe it warranted the death penalty," Bell said.
Instead, Hord plead guilty will spend the rest of his life in prison.
Brian Hord is charged with first-degree murder for the death of Richard Gentry.
Investigators said he beat his 68-year-old roommate to death, and then cut him up in an effort to hide the body.
Hord said nothing before accepting a plea to avoid the death penalty.
"Are you in fact guilty?" the judge asked.
"Yes, sir," Hord said.
Hord has always admitted to killing his wheelchair-bound roommate with a hammer, then chopping the body into pieces with a hand saw.
On Tuesday, more details were released about the roommate arrangements.
Defense attorney Victoria Jayne said the victim Gentry, 68, was horrible to Hord.
Jayne described abuse in the home as "harassments and threats and insults."
District attorney Locke Bell said Hord was once married with a son, but found himself homeless and struggling with mental disorders.
The D.A. said Gentry, who had an apartment, took advantage of that.
"The victim demanded certain physical acts by the defendant," Bell said.
Bell said Hord confided in his ex-wife and in the weeks leading up to the murder and told her repeatedly that he wanted to kill his roommate.
Then in August she got a phone call.
"I have done it. I have killed the victim," Hord told her.
She called 911.
"He actually mentioned it before, about doing it. He said he's just not gotten up the courage to do it," she told the 911 dispatcher.
Hord let police into the home, where they found Gentry's remains in bags.
But because of the abuse Hord suffered at the hands of the victim the D.A. had to make a tough choice.
"I do not believe it warranted the death penalty," Bell said.
Instead, Hord plead guilty will spend the rest of his life in prison.
WSOC
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