Man pleads guilty in son-in-law’s death

— Prosecutors say an Arkansas man has pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in a purported murder-for-hire conspiracy that left his son-in-law dead.

Prosecutor Scott Ellington says Carl Kelley pleaded guilty to the murder charge Tuesday in Craighead County Circuit Court.

Kelley will be sentenced Jan. 4, when prosecutors say they’ll recommend a sentence of 35 years in prison.

Prosecutors say Kelley drove a gunman to the home of his son-in-law, Marc Despain, and let the gunman inside to kill Despain last year.

The gunman, Terrance Barker, previously pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and was sentenced to 35 years in prison.

Kelley’s daughter and Despain’s widow, Michelle Despain, has also been charged in her husband’s death. She’s slated to go on trial for capital murder in February.

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