Ronald Williams, the man accused of murdering Bobbie Maples, appeared in court Friday morning and plead no contest to the charges against him.

Williams was originally charged with open murder, but in a plea deal, his charge was changed to second-degree murder.

Williams claims that he and Maples had met up to do a DNA test to determine if he was the father of the baby she had given birth to only eleven days prior to her disappearance. He told police that he gave Maples heroin and she overdosed. He allegedly took her body outside when he discovered her dead and later buried her in a horse corral.

While traces of morphine and sleeping pills were found in Maples' system, the official cause of her death, according to the coroner, was homicidal asphyxiation.

As part of Williams' plea deal, his minimum sentence has been capped at 18.5 years in prison. He is expected back in court October 3 for sentencing.

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