Man Pleads Guilty to Covering up 2021 Killing of 17-Year-Old, Mutilating Victim's Body
Joshua Wirgau, 35, could face up to 30 years in prison
Michigan Department of Corrections
Joshua WirgauA Michigan man pleaded guilty to several charges connected to the 2021 killing of a 17-year-old girl, court records indicate.
Joshua Wirgau, 35, pleaded guilty to disinterment and mutilation of a dead body, felony accessory after the fact and involuntary manslaughter, charges that stem from the 2021 killings of Brynn Bills and Abby Hill.
According to reports from FOX 2, The Detroit News and UpNorthLive, authorities allege that Wirgau and Brad Srebnik were responsible for the disappearances of Bills and Hill in 2021. (Court records do not show if Srebnik has entered pleas to the charges against him.)
Authorities allege that Srebnik killed Bills after she was picked up by Hill in August 2021, The Detroit News reported. Wirgau was then accused of burying Bills’ body on his property in Alpena, Mich.
Hill was then shot and killed the following month, with authorities alleging that Srebnik and Wirgau killed her to prevent her from revealing information about Bills’ death, reported UpNorthLive.
Wirgau was originally charged with first-degree murder in Hill’s death, but pleaded guilty to the lesser charges and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors during Srebnik’s trial, set to begin in January, UpNorthLive reported.
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Wirgau could be sentenced to between 15 and 30 years in prison. His sentencing is scheduled for February, court records indicate.
The Michigan Attorney General’s Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from PEOPLE.
In a statement published by The News, state Attorney General Dana Nessel said Wirgau’s guilty plea will strengthen the state’s case against Srebnik.
“We continue to work toward justice for these victims and this community," Nessel said in the reported statement.
Srebnik is charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Bills and Hill and also faces the disinterment and mutilation of a dead body charge that Wirgau faced as well as two felony weapons charges, court records show.
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