The Associated Press
ST. PAUL, Minn. - A judge has rejected an attempted guilty plea by a man accused of fatally beating his girlfriend in St. Paul.
Twenty-six-year-old Brent Lanier Lynch told a Ramsey County District Court judge that he pushed his girlfriend, Carolyn Leete, after they arrived at his home during the early morning hours of March 3 and she fell backward and hit her head.
Lynch decided Monday to accept the state's offer to plead guilty to second-degree unintentional murder and an intentional murder charge would be dropped. He also told the judge he didn't intend to cause his girlfriend's death.
The St. Paul Pioneer Press reports Judge Robyn Millenacker decided there wasn't enough of a factual basis for Lynch's guilty plea. A trial date was set for Oct. 29.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. )