The Associated Press

MAYFIELD - A man accused in the shooting death of his former girlfriend pleaded guilty but mentally ill to murder as part of a bargain with prosecutors.

John Francis Thompson, 35, of Mayfield, slumped in his chair and began to sob Wednesday as Graves County Circuit Judge John Daughaday read an indictment describing Tracey Gray's death.

Thompson forced his way into the Green Acres Health Care administrator's Wingo home on Jan. 24, 2002, and shot her twice, the indictment said. Two of Gray's co-workers discovered her body at her residence the next day. There was no sign of a struggle.

Thompson surrendered the same day to Clanton, Ala., police, who reported finding a 9 mm handgun in Thompson's truck. Thompson told police he believed Gray had a new boyfriend and wanted to shake his hand and tell him he was a better man, then Thompson planned to kill himself.

There was no evidence of a third person in the house.

"It was appropriate," Thompson's attorney, Vincent Yustas, said of the plea agreement with Graves County Commonwealth's Attorney David Hargrove that Yustas said was not often seen.

Yustas, a public defender specializing in death penalty cases, said the most important aspect of the agreement is that it demands that Thompson receive psychiatric treatment until his therapist determines that he doesn't need further counseling.

Hargrove told Daughaday he had no opposition to the change of plea motion in a quickly scheduled hearing Wednesday afternoon. Thompson is expected to serve life in prison and will be eligible for parole in 25 years. He will remain in the Graves County Jail until his formal sentencing July 7. His trial had been scheduled to begin Tuesday.