A Monticello man has admitted to killing and then dismembering his girlfriend, Elizabeth Mucci, in April 2011. Ryder, who was 23 at the time, had argued with Mucci, 31, at their apartment on Fraser Road in the Town of Thompson, and the argument turned physical. Ryder punched Mucci in her throat, which caused her to stop breathing and eventually die.

Ryder was arrested on May 13, 2011, after an investigation by the New York State Police into Mucci’s disappearance.

In a press release, District Attorney Jim Farrell said that Ryder entered a plea of guilty to a charge of manslaughter, on April 27, and he is expected to be sentenced to 25 years in prison, with five years of probation upon release.

Ryder also admitted to attempting to conceal the homicide by putting Mucci’s body in the woods and then trying to burn it. After that did not succeed, Ryder returned to the woods the next day, and dismembered Mucci’s body in order to hide it, and spread the parts in various locations.

Police recovered just one of Mucci’s legs, and no cause of death was ever forensically established. Under the terms of the plea, Ryder admitted to acting under an extreme emotional disturbance at the time of the homicide which reduced the murder to manslaughter.

Farrell said, “This plea agreement, considering all the facts and circumstances known to me, is consistent with justice and the facts of the homicide. In addition, Mucci’s family, who knew Ryder and his family for nearly 20 years, were in agreement with the plea and that was a significant factor in my agreeing to the 25-year state prison sentence.”

Ryder will be sentenced on June 28.