Ohio man pleads guilty in neighbor beheading

CANTON, Ohio (AP) — A northeast Ohio man has admitted that he killed and beheaded his neighbor in a mobile home park.

William Perry of North Canton pleaded guilty in Stark County Common Pleas Court to aggravated murder today in a plea deal that will spare him the death penalty.

Perry was accused in the death of 34-year-old Brett Smith, who was found decapitated last October. Authorities say Smith died of asphyxiation.

Perry was initially arrested on a charge accusing him of damaging the electric meter on Smith’s property. Smith also had filed a complaint with police alleging Perry hit him in the face.

The plea deal calls for the 41-year-old Perry to get a life sentence and waive all of his appeals.