Suspect in Fort Collins homicide pleads guilty to murder

A man accused of killing a Fort Collins mother, whose body was found in Sheldon Lake at City Park in June, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder.

The Coloradoan reports Jeffrey Etheridge pleaded guilty Monday to the murder of Heather “Helena” Hoffmann. The guilty plea was part of an agreement that dismissed the other charges against him and guaranteed he would not face the death penalty.

In addition to the murder charge, Etheridge had been charged with second-degree kidnapping, sexual assault and tampering with a deceased human body.

Etheridge repeatedly shook his head and left the podium multiple times to discuss the case with his attorneys before he eventually entered his guilty plea.

Etheridge says he would be discredited in trial because of his past. Etheridge is a registered sex offender who was convicted in Kentucky in May 2013 of possession of material depicting sexual acts by a minor. He initially failed to register when he moved to Colorado in March.

Etheridge remains in custody at the Larimer County Jail and will be sentenced Feb. 26.