A man accused of strangling his ex-girlfriend to death at a residence located in Waldwick New Jersey recently pleaded guilty to first degree murder charges.

The suspect reportedly committed the brutal murder on October 23, 2013. According to the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, the suspect, 22-year-old Mark J. Spatucci, killed his 23-year-old girlfriend, Mary Greff, at her parents’ house in Waldwick, New Jersey.

Spatucci and Greff had dated for some time and had a 10-month-old infant together. Prior to the tragic incident, the couple reportedly ended their relationship. At this time, it is unknown if the victim had obtained a restraining order against the suspect before the homicide.

While the suspect allegedly committed the murder, the couple’s infant child was asleep inside the residence, as were the parents of the victim.

Bergen County NJ prosecutors said that the suspect got inside the Waldwick house by breaking a second-floor window. Once inside the house, the suspect allegedly confronted the victim in a room where she and the child were attempting to sleep.

It is believed that Spatucci and Greff started to argue, with the argument eventually becoming violent and resulting in Spatucci strangling Greff to death.

Waldwick police later found the suspect in Midland Park, NJ. He was arrested and charged with multiple criminal offenses, including first degree murder.

Bergen County medical examiners performed an autopsy and determined that the victim had been raped before being killed. As a result, the suspect was also charged with aggravated sexual assault in the case.

Now the suspect is probably going to end up spending a very long time in New Jersey State Prison. He recently had to appear in Bergen County Superior Court, which is located in Hackensack, so that he could plead guilty to the murder charges, as well as a charge of hindering apprehension.

In exchange for Spatucci’s guilty plea on the homicide charges, Bergen County prosecutors dropped the other criminal charges for burglary, child endangerment, and sexual assault.

Since being arrested, the suspect has been held at the Bergen County Jail in Hackensack on a $2 million bail amount.

Now the suspect will probably soon be transferred to state prison, with prosecutors expected to recommend a sentence of 45 years on the first degree murder charges.

For more information about this case, see the Patch.com article, “Bergen Man Pleads Guilty to Murdering Former Beauty Pageant Contestant.”