A second suspect has pleaded guilty in the death of a California man whose body was found wrapped inside a burning carpet in October 2005.
John Dean Babcock, 39, pleaded guilty to manslaughter Tuesday in exchange for dismissal of a first-degree-murder charge. When sentenced April 19, Babcock could receive seven to 21 years.
Babcock told Judge Howard Fell of Pima County Superior Court that he and Robert Proctor Evans-Goodin, 32, believed Gregory Garcia Toscano, 21, had assaulted and raped a female friend of theirs.
A fight ensued among the three men, and Babcock said he struck Toscano in the head with a hammer. He said Evans-Goodin struck Toscano with nunchakus before suffocating him.
Babcock also admitted helping Evans-Goodin dispose of Toscano's body.
The body was found by Tucson firefighters after they were called out to douse a brush fire in the 100 block of West Pastime Road, near North Stone Avenue and West Prince Road.
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Babcock, Evans-Goodin and Brandi Quiroz, who was the woman allegedly attacked by Toscano, were arrested based on tips to police.
Babcock's guilty plea comes three weeks after Quiroz agreed to testify against him and Evans-Goodin as part of a plea agreement.
Quiroz, 25, pleaded guilty to aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and is facing two to five years in prison.
Evans-Goodin is scheduled to enter his own plea agreement today.
Deputy Pima County Attorney Susan Eazer said Quiroz and a friend would have testified that while Babcock and Evans-Goodin had been told there was a rape, there hadn't been.
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