KUSA — A man has pled guilty to second-degree murder after the body of a 62-year-old was found in a remote campground in Gilpin County in last year.
Jeffrey Maynard, 26, was accused of killing John Cumby Jr. and leaving his body in a wooded area last September.
Maynard appeared in the Gilpin County District Court on Friday and pled guilty to second-degree murder, two counts of identity theft and one count of aggravated motor vehicle theft. He now faces between 40 and 78 years in prison.
On Sept. 11, 2017, Maynard was arrested after a traffic stop in Idaho while driving Cumby's van. According to the arrest affidavit, deputies in Ada County found several of Cumby's belongings -- including his wallet -- in the van.
Two days after the traffic stop, several law enforcement agencies found Cumby's remains in a camping area in Rollinsville. An autopsy revealed he had been strangled.
An investigator said it does not appear Maynard and Cumby knew each other before the killings.
Through the course of their investigation, deputies spoke with Cumby’s family and learned he had not been heard from since August 20 and was overdue to return home to Rock Falls, Illinois.
It's unclear what the motive in the killing is.
Maynard will be sentenced on November 29.
