Inmate Pleads No Contest in Ark. Killing

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - A Montana prisoner pleaded no contest Tuesday in the killing of a New Jersey woman nearly seven years ago at a highway rest stop in central Arkansas.

Ronald James Ward, serving life in prison for another killing, was linked to the slaying of 25-year-old Kristin Laurite through DNA five years after she was stabbed, sexually assaulted and left to die at the rest stop in August 2000. He was charged with first-degree murder in May 2006.

Ward, 40, was arrested last year while in prison and returned to Arkansas for his court appearance Tuesday.

He initially told the court, while representing himself, that he would plead guilty. But Ward changed his plea after talking to a public defender, and the no-contest plea means he will not go to trial.

Ward changed his plea because he admitted responsibility in Laurite's death but said he couldn't remember it because he had been high on heroin, moonshine and cocaine, prosecutor Tom Tatum said.

Ward's lawyer, John Irwin, declined to discuss the case in detail, citing lawyer-client confidentiality.

Ward will be sentenced Thursday, and he agreed to a life term, Tatum said.

Laurite left her New Jersey home on her way to California for a new job at a day care center. By Aug. 25, 2000, she made it to Arkansas, stopping at the rest stop to splash water on her face and let her dogs play.

The next day, truckers noticed one of the dogs running loose. The trucker called the number on the dog's tag, finding Laurite's mother. The dogs led officers to her body, dragged down toward a pond.

Laurite's mother Lynn DiBenedetto expressed love for her daughter, and relief.

"Finally, justice will be served for the brutal murder of my daughter," DiBenedetto said in an e-mail to reporters. "Although the pain never goes away, I will finally get some peace of mind knowing that this alleged predator will never again be a part of society."

As officers led Ward away from his court appearance Tuesday, a television reporter asked him if he felt any remorse for Laurite's death. Ward nodded his head and his shoulders hitched as he began to cry.