Green Cove Springs, FL -- Jarred Harrell, the man accused of killing 7-year-old Somer Thompson, has pleaded guilty.
Harrell was sentenced to life in prison for the 2009 murder.
Somer disappeared from her Orange Park home in 2009 while walking home from school. Her body was found in a landfill two days later.
Authorities said Harrell's mother lived on the street where the little girl walked and was arrested a year ago in Mississippi on unrelated child pornography charges before he was indicted in Florida on first-degree murder.
Thompson's father, Sam Thompson, lives in Alamance County.
The family released this statement.
"There is no way to express the pain we feel. There is no way to fill the whole in our hearts. There is no healing or closure for this."
"We just want all parents to keep your children close to you. Never let them out of your sight. If it happened to us, it can happen to anyone."
Associated Press