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HELENA — A Poplar man who originally told police that his girlfriend had killed herself has pleaded guilty to her murder.

Delvin Red Eagle entered his plea Monday before U.S. District Judge Brian Morris in Great Falls.

Fort Peck Tribes criminal investigator Ken Trottier previously said the 23-year-old man had reported the shooting death of 25-year-old Roxanne Morsette in January as a suicide.

Red Eagle was charged after investigators found nothing that supported the suicide claim.

Red Eagle agreed to plead guilty to second-degree murder. In exchange, prosecutors agreed to drop a firearms charge and to give him credit for taking responsibility for Morsette's death when they recommend a sentence.

Morris set a sentencing hearing for March 2. The maximum penalty is life in prison and a $250,000 fine.

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