Man pleads guilty to kidnapping ex-girlfriend found shot to death

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A Houston man accused of killing his ex-girlfriend has pleaded guilty to kidnapping in connection with her death.

Don Gaines, 31, entered a guilty plea Friday in federal court, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

He faces the same sentence he would for a murder charge, including life in prison and a $250,000 fine.

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Gayla Roy, who was the mother of Gaines' 1- and 6-year-old sons, disappeared in September 2017.

Her father said the last time he heard from Roy, she was getting off her shift at the post office where she worked with Gaines.

"I knew he had did it because I talk to her when they got off of work, and she told me she was taking him home," father Rodney Rigmaiden said. "I was the last one to talk to her."

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Investigators said Gaines abducted Roy and strangled her. He then drove with her to Louisiana, thinking she was dead.

At one point, Roy regained consciousness during the drive. Authorities said Gaines confessed to arguing with Roy, pulling over on Interstate 10, shooting her, and leaving her to die in the woods.

On Oct. 12, 2017, investigators found Roy's body with a single gunshot wound to the back of the head. DNA analysis confirmed the remains were of Roy.

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Gaines is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 22.

Video above is from a previously published story.