Md. Teen Pleads Guilty to Killing Ex-Girlfriend, 15

A Maryland teen pleaded guilty Tuesday to killing his 15-year-old ex-girlfriend in 2017 and dumping her body in a dumpster.

Naeshawn Jaheim Perry, 19, of Havre de Grace, pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree murder in the death of Maleigha Solonka, as part of a plea agreement he reached with prosecutors, court records show, The Baltimore Sun reports.

As part of his plea deal, he will spend 20 to 40 years in prison, Harford County State’s Attorney Albert Peisinger said, The Baltimore Sun reports.

Solonka, who lived in Edgewood, was reported missing on August 9, 2017, a day before her 16th birthday, WBAL-TV reports.

On August 16, 2017, her devastated family learned that her body had been found in the woods in Havre de Grace, stuffed in a dumpster, a news release from the Harford County State’s Attorney’s Office states.

Solonka’s death was ruled a homicide. The medical examiner determined that she died by asphyxiation.

For more than a year, police searched for Solonka’s killer, before charging Perry in August 2018 as an adult with first- and second-degree murder, CBS Baltimore reports.

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up forPEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

Solonka and Perry had a tumultuous relationship, her grandmother, Donna Elliot, who had custody of the girl, told The Baltimore Sun.

Elliot suspected Perry killed Solonka because her granddaughter said she feared him in the weeks before she vanished, WBAL-TV reports.

“She came to me and showed me she was bruised, badly, and that (he said) he was going to kill her if she snitched. Her exact words,” Elliot said.

Solanka was murdered after she broke up with Perry, Elliot said, according to The Baltimore Sun.

“For someone who claimed he loved my granddaughter, how could you kill her? Why? Why?” Elliot said, WBAL-TV reports.

“Not a day goes by that I don’t miss her and (think), ‘I love you, you made me a Nana and I’m proud that you helped.’ I know she helped in this, I know she had a hand in this somehow,” Elliot said.

When Perry was charged with her murder, he was in juvenile custody for an unrelated rape case from February 2017, WBAL-TV reports.

He was held without bail and awaiting trial, which was set to begin on Tuesday, when he reached the plea agreement with prosecutors.

Perry is scheduled to return to court on June 4 for his sentencing.

“My whole family is forever broken, but we can try to put some pieces back together,” Elliott said.

“Maleigha is getting the justice that she deserves.”

Perry’s attorneys at the public defender’s office did not respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

ncG1vNJzZmiolaS9rbGNnKamZ5Ontq6xjqaYq7GclruledOenKdloKGyorDSZp6uoZypxm7AzmaioqScnruoecSxZKChoqGzs7XEp5tmaWVirq%2BwjK2fq6ennruoecGom7JlmaN6pcHMqaqtnaJk