Man takes plea deal in Laura Garza death

A sex offender suddenly admitted Monday that he suffocated an aspiring dancer from Texas he met at a Manhattan nightclub, stuffed her body into a laundry basket and dumped her 85 miles away in the Pennsylvania woods.

Accepting a manslaughter conviction in a plea bargain after three years of noncooperation, Michael Mele said that after he picked up 25-year-old Laura Garza in December 2008, she became upset in his upstate apartment when she saw a picture of his girlfriend.

"She wanted to leave. I didn't want to drive back," said Mele, 26. "She started to get a little louder. I put my hand over her mouth and partially her nose, and shortly after that, she stopped yelling, stopped moving, and I realized something bad had happened." He said he then panicked.

"I put her in a laundry basket and put a blanket over it," before carrying the body to his Infiniti SUV and driving to a remote area outside Scranton, Pa., where he dumped it, he said.

Garza's remains weren't found for more than two years.

Orange County Judge Nicholas De Rosa agreed to sentence Mele to 23 years in prison for manslaughter and at least 16 months more for tampering with evidence -- Garza's body. The sentences are to be served concurrently, and defense lawyer Craig Brown said after the plea that with good behavior, Mele could be out in less than 20 years.

If convicted of murder at trial, he could have been sentenced to 25 years to life.

Several of Garza's relatives who attended the court session weren't satisfied. Garza's mother, Elizabeth Esquivel, wept as she spoke to reporters in Spanish. A family friend, Awilda Cordero, translated, saying: "She's very upset. She's not happy with the 23 years. They wanted a jury to give him more. She's worried he'll get out before the 23 years."

Garza's brother Ivan Garza said, "It's not justice. My mother and my brother Nicolas and I, we came to see the man and to see a jury," he added.

Cordero said the family would address the judge about their concerns when Mele is formally sentenced March 6.

Prosecutor Kelle Grimmer wouldn't comment. A call to the district attorney's office wasn't immediately returned.

The plea came as jurors gathered in a nearby room, ready to hear the case.