Norman Bachman enters guilty plea to wife's 1997 disappearance

Norman Bachman entered a guilty plea Friday afternoon to a charge of manslaughter in the 1997 disappearance of his wife Toni in White Bear Township, Minn. Prosecutors say Bachman has directed investigators to the area where he disposed of Toni’s body, but 5 searches have revealed no remains.

Bachman admitted he strangled Toni as they fought in the bedroom, then cut-up her body in the basement 2 days later and disposed of it 3 days after. Toni Bachman's body has never been found, but new DNA tests on blood samples taken from the basement of the Bachman home matched her DNA.

Under terms of the plea agreement, the second-degree murder charge Bachman had been facing will be dropped. Bachman will be sentenced to 160 months in prison, but the sentence will be reduced to 120 months if Toni Bachman’s remains are ever found.

Two previous reviews of Bachman’s case file by Ramsey County prosecutors in 1997 and 1999 led to a decline of charges due to insufficient evidence.

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