SALT LAKE CITY — James Brunson stood in a yellow jumpsuit in the Matheson Courthouse on Friday and answered "sure do" when the judge asked if he understood the rights he gives up when pleading guilty.

He admitted to killing 57-year-old Linda Nemelka, of Millcreek, during an attempt to take her car by force, his attorney said.

Brunson, 27, pleaded guilty to murder with a firearm enhancement and aggravated robbery, both second-degree felonies.

The deal allowed him to plead guilty to a reduced version of both charges, which were previously first-degree felonies, and dismissed a third charge, possession of a dangerous weapon as a restricted person, a second-degree felony.

Nemelka, a mother of five, was found shot to death in her car on March 11, 2020, after returning home from having dinner with a friend. Police said her engine was still running when they arrived.

Brunson and Anika Celeste Thorpe were both arrested a few days later on other charges and then charged with Namelka's murder in July 2021.

Charges said neighbors reported seeing a dark-colored SUV leaving following the shooting, and Brunson and Thorpe were believed to be driving a similar car stolen in American Fork three days earlier.

Before Brunson's arrest in March 2020, officers saw him throw a handgun over a fence. That gun was later determined to be the same gun used to shoot Nemelka, charges said. A man reported to police that Brunson had asked him to look for information about a shooting in Millcreek.

Brunson will be sentenced on Dec. 5.

Thorpe is scheduled for a jury trial in January.

Related:

2 charged in mysterious killing of Millcreek woman last year

After more than a year of investigation, two people were charged with murder in the death of a Millcreek woman found shot in her car in a friend's driveway.

Related topics