An Akron man has pleaded guilty to killing his girlfriend and burying her body in a shallow grave in her own backyard, Summit County Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh announced Wednesday.
David Callaghan, 53, pleaded guilty to charges of murder, tampering with evidence, abuse of a corpse, and domestic violence in the death of 54-year-old Martha "Robin" Freitag. Callaghan will be sentenced on May 6 at 9 a.m. in Summit County Common Pleas Court, facing up to life in prison.
Officials say Callaghan beat Freitag to death last July and then buried her body in the fire pit behind her own Crouse St. home, where Callaghan also lived. It was not until September that Freitag's remains were discovered.
Court records showed a lengthy rap sheet for Callaghan even before Freitag's murder, with guilty pleas in Akron alone for drug abuse, theft, and criminal trespass. Some of those previous charges led to jail time.
Freitag's life was remembered at a vigil in the same backyard held shortly after her death and discovery.
