Read more: National, Crime, Mexico
Alejandro Rivera Gamboa (left) and Javier Arellano Gamboa (right) SOURCE: Oregon City News
OREGON CITY, ORE. (AP) -- An illegal immigrant pleaded guilty to murdering a 15-year-old Texas girl visiting Oregon last year.
Alejandro Emeterio Rivera Gamboa admitted that — as he and his cousin attempted to rape Dani Countryman — he pressed his foot against the girl's throat and upper chest until she stopped moving.
He also pleaded guilty to abuse of a corpse for moving Countryman's body to another apartment.
Gamboa's cousin, Javier Arellano Gamboa, is scheduled to go to trial in January.
Countryman died from strangulation July 28, 2007, after partying at an apartment complex in the Portland suburb of Milwaukie. Countryman had been in the state visiting her older sister, Ashley Countryman.
Rivera Gamboa won't be sentenced until after his cousin's case is resolved. According to the terms of a plea bargain, Rivera Gamboa will be sentenced to life in prison but will be eligible for parole after 35 years.
At Tuesday's hearing, Rivera Gamboa, speaking through an interpreter, apologized for his actions.
He admitted restraining Countryman as she resisted the sexual assault, but said the death was an accident that only happened because he was drunk.
Ashley Countryman attended the hearing, but did not speak.
Rivera Gamboa and his cousin are both Mexican nationals, and the case outraged those demanding a crackdown on illegal immigration.
The Oregonian newspaper reported last year that Rivera Gamboa pleaded guilty to two counts of drunken driving in November 2006.
He signed a plea agreement that stated he was not a U.S. citizen and was released without anyone in the criminal justice system notifying immigration authorities.
(Copyright ©2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
