Man Pleads Guilty In Stillwater Near-Beheading Case

A Stillwater, Oklahoma, man accused of killing his friend with a machete has pleaded guilty to a murder charge.

Wednesday morning, Isaiah Marin, 21, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the death of 19-year-old Jacob Andrew Crockett. He entered the plea agreement to avoid the death penalty, and has been sentenced to life in prison without parole.

1/5/2015 Related Story: District Attorney Seeks Death Sentence In Stillwater Near-Beheading Case

In court documents, Marin said he planned to kill Crockett. He followed through with that plan last October by stabbing Crockett repeatedly in the body and neck with a machete, nearly decapitating his roommate.

He dialed 911 and confessed to the crime. Police eventually caught Marin walking along Highway 51 covered in blood.

Laura Austin Thomas, District Attorney, had long maintained that Marin was both competent and sane when he brutally murdered Crockett.  The State’s psychologist from Oklahoma Forensic Center in Vinita, Oklahoma, also issued a report that Marin was competent to stand trial.

Judge Phillip Corley received his plea and questioned him thoroughly before accepting the plea and finding him guilty. With the deal, Marin will receive mental health treatment. He also waived his right to an appeal.

“We felt all along the suspect in this case deserved the death penalty. We still believe that,” Ben Crockett, Jacob Crockett’s father said after the hearing.

The Crockett’s said despite their wishes for his sentence, they were still happy with Wednesday’s outcome that “justice was served.”

Ben said his other son Jesse, Jacob’s twin brother, had already expressed forgiveness towards Marin, but his father Ben said they are turning to faith to find healing.

“Our forgiveness comes from God. The father in me, the man in me, that's a tough road. We will eventually get there. I'm hopeful,” Ben Crockett said.