NY Woman Admits To Killing Former Friend Dating Ex-Boyfriend

WARSAW, N.Y. (AP) — A western New York woman has pleaded guilty to murdering a former friend who was dating the killer's boyfriend.

Prosecutors in Wyoming County say 39-year-old Kira Kastenhuber pleaded guilty Thursday to a second-degree murder charge in exchange for a sentence of 15 years to life in prison.

Authorities say Kastenhuber strangled, beat and stabbed 33-year-old Desirae Withey last February inside Withey's home in the rural village of Perry, 35 miles southwest of Rochester. The victim's body was found by one of her children, who alerted a neighbor.

The two women were former friends and co-workers whose friendship ended when Withey began dating Kastenhuber's ex-boyfriend.

Kastenhuber was arrested at her mother's home in Rochester, where Kastenhuber had overdosed and where police found a suicide note in which she admitted to the killing.

[STORY BY: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS]