Richard Craig McNew of St. Louis, Mo., admitted in Contra Costa County Superior Court on Tuesday to bounding and gagging Anna Elizabeth Vuori in her Lafayette home, sexually assaulting her and smothering her to death.
The 34-year-old then took car keys, $18,000 in savings bonds and $200 in cash from the home.
McNew would have faced the death penalty if he had gone to trial. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 13.
The murder has spurred the Lafayette City Council to consider banning solicitor licenses for anyone with a criminal record.
