Felina Billetdeaux again pleaded guilty on Monday to third-degree murder for beating her former boyfriend to death with an aluminum softball bat in 2003.

Billetdeaux, 23, of Brownstown, faces a maximum sentence of 44 years in prison for killing 17-year-old Jonathan "Jonnie" Moyer inside her Brownstown apartment.

The plea came just three days after Lancaster County Judge David L. Ashworth ruled police interviews and recorded phone conversations that included Billetdeaux's confession to the killing could be used by the prosecution at trial.

Billetdeaux's defense attorneys, Herbert Crystle and William Brought, had asked the judge to bar the prosecution from using those conversations at the trial.

Ashworth will sentence Billetdeaux Wednesday.

Third-degree murder carries a maximum sentence of 20 to 40 years in prison. Billetdeaux also will be sentenced on misdemeanor charges of abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence. Those charges each carry a maximum sentence of two years in prison.

Billetdeaux had pleaded guilty to identical charges in January of 2007, but later withdrew the plea.

Ashworth warned Billetdeaux Monday about changing her mind this time.

"Given the past history of the case, the very real possibility exists that I wouldn't let you withdraw your plea," Ashworth told her.

Billetdeaux and Crystle reserved comments for the sentencing hearing.

On Monday, Assistant District Attorney Todd E. Brown recited the facts of the gruesome case as Billetdeaux's supporters — including her mother — watched from the gallery.

Billetdeaux allegedly became enraged when she learned that Moyer, 17, had had an affair with their mutual friend, Steva Hagelgans.

Hagelgans, 16 at the time of Moyer's killing, was pregnant with the victim's baby, according to testimony.

Billetdeaux was romantically involved with both Moyer and Hagelgans, according to testimony.

Moyer and Billetdeaux were arguing March 19, 2003, in her apartment at 35 E. Main St. in Brownstown when Moyer allegedly "pushed" Billetdeaux, Brown said. Billetdeaux then hit Moyer in the back of the head with the bat, Brown said.

The blow left a 5-by-4-inch gash behind the right ear of Moyer's head, Brown said.

Billetdeaux wrapped the body in a plastic tarp and bed sheets and kept it in her bedroom closet for about a month, according to testimony. Billetdeaux and Hagelgans then buried the body in a "shallow hole" they dug behind their Brownstown apartment, Brown said.

When the two women were asked about Moyer's whereabouts, they said he had moved to Florida.

On April 11, 2005, more than two years after Moyer went missing, Hagelgans told police about Moyer's killing.

Hours later, Billetdeaux spoke with Hagelgans, who had agreed to cooperate with police and was under their surveillance, about the killing. Billetdeaux was arrested April 12, 2005, after telling police she had killed Moyer.

Forensic investigators dug up Moyer's "severely decomposed" body that same day, Brown said. The boy's head was wrapped in a plastic bag fastened with twine and tape. His left arm and hand were detached from the body and kept in a separate bag, Brown said.

E-mail: bhambright@lnpnews.com