Man Found With Bloody Mattress Pleads In Roommate's Fatal Shooting

HASTINGS (WWJ/AP) - A western Michigan man long suspected in the deaths of two roommates has pleaded guilty in a deal with prosecutors.

Harold Ordway made the plea to second-degree murder on Wednesday.

Ordway has been under scrutiny since September 2011 when officers investigating an Allegan County crash found a mattress with fresh blood in the bed of his pickup. He arrested at the scene for possessing a weapon as a felon, but wouldn't tell police where the blood came from.

Ordway was charged with an open count of murder in the fatal shooting of Paul Atchley, who was living with Ordway and has been missing since summer 2011. The remains of roommate Michael VanBuskirk were found in Kalamazoo County, but Ordway isn't charged in the death.

Reports say part of Ordway's plea deal, however, involved him acknowledging that he choked and killed VanBuskirk. The plea deal also calls for Ordway's to cooperate with police to find Atchley's body.

Ordway will be sentenced next month. He could receive up to 20 years in prison.

TM and © Copyright 2013 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.