John Albert Gardner III Pleads Guilty To Murders Of King, Dubois

by Yuliya Talmazan | April 16, 2010 at 05:17 pm

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John Albert Gardner III Pleads Guilty In The Cases Of Chelsea King And Amber Dubois

John Albert Gardner III charged in connection with the disappearances of teenagers Chelsea King and Amber Dubois has pleaded guilty. Gardner admitted to attacking, raping, and killing Chelsea King, who went missing in Rancho Bernardo Community Park less than two months ago. King's body was found near Lake Hodges a week after her disappearance. Gardner also admitted to killing Amber Dubois who went missing while walking to school in February of 2009. It is alleged Dubois was also raped and stabbed by Gardner. However, there is no physical evidence linking Gardner to Dubois's death.

It is expected that Gardner will be given two consecutive life sentences with no possibility of parole. Back in March, Gardner pleaded not guilty to the rape and murder of Chelsea King. Now, the guilty plea is likely to save Gardner from the death penalty, which is practiced in the state of California.

Chelsea King And Amber Dubois

Chelsea King, 17, went missing on February 25 when she went for a run in Rancho Bernardo Community Park. Gardner said he attacked King, took her into a remote area where the teenager was raped and than strangled her.

Amber Dubois, 14, disappeared on her way to school on February 13, 2009. Her body was found in a remote area near Pala in San Diego County in March of this year. It is alleged Dubois was raped and stabbed by Gardner.

Finally, the accused pleaded guilty to charges of sexually assaulting 22-year-old Candice Moncayo on December 27 in the same Rancho Bernardo Community Park. The woman survived the attack and went on Larry King Live to tell her story.

John Albert Gardner III was a convicted sex offender. He served five years in prison for the molestation of a young girl in 2000.

The families of the slaughtered girls expressed their lack of desire to seek death penalty in the case because of the traumatic nature of the cases.

“There’s nothing satisfying about this moment. It is only one more unbearably painful day that we will have to carry in our memory as long as we live.”

Gardner's sentencing is scheduled for June of this year.