Update:

Horrific details were heard in a Sudbury courtroom Tuesday morning as a 32-year-old man pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in a brutal killing from two years ago.  

The crime was only uncovered when emergency crews responded to a shed fire in March of 2017 in the Minnow Lake area of Greater Sudbury.

Human remains were found inside the structure. 

The judge heard the victim, 59-year-old Kenneth Edwards, was stabbed, beaten with a baseball bat, and dismembered, before his body was burned in a shed.

A forensic anthropologist was needed to help police investigate the charred remains.

32-year-old Darcy Sheppard was originally charged with first-degree murder, but pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, arson, and causing indignity to a body.

Glenn Sandberg represented the accused and explains why the guilty plea was for a lesser degree.

“There are a number of different elements that are necessary for first-degree murder. We took the position that some of those elements were not necessarily capable of being established.” said Sandberg.

During the trial, the Crown Attorney called the crime scene on Bancroft Drive "horrific."

The judge heard that Sheppard told a friend, after the murder, that the victim asked to be killed because he was suffering from leukemia.

Sheppard says he was offered a $10-million lottery ticket in exchange for the killing.

It turns out; the victim was not suffering from a fatal illness.

Sheppard has been in custody since his arrest, a day after the murder.

In a joint submission, the Crown and the defence are asking for a life sentence with no chance of parole for 17 years.

A date for that hearing will be set on Friday.

Original:

A 32-year-old Sudbury man, Darcy Sheppard, has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in a Sudbury courtroom Tuesday morning, in connection to the death of Kenneth Edwards.

Emergency services were called to a shed fire on Bancroft Drive in Sudbury's Minnow Lake neighbourhood back in March 2017, when the charred body of 59-year-old Edwards was found.

Sheppard was arrested the next evening and charged with murder.

CTV Northern Ontario's Alana Everson is at the trial and will be providing more details.