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Last updated on Friday, June 29, 2012
(KOKOMO) - A man who admitted to beating his girlfriend to death with a hammer and throwing her body in the trash must reveal what he knows about her remains as part of a plea deal.
Travis Funke, 34, of Kokomo, was scheduled to stand trial next week on a charge of voluntary manslaughter in the 2011 slaying of Kelly Armstrong, 28.
According to court documents filed Wednesday, Funke has agreed to a 35-year prison term in exchange for a guilty plea.
He must also make a full statement, under oath, as to Armstrong's whereabouts and death.
Armstrong's family reported her missing in September 2011 after she hadn't been heard from in months, and they said Funke, her live-in boyfriend, began acting evasive.
Shortly after police talked with Funke, he cut off his home detention monitor and tried to commit suicide, according to a probable cause affidavit.
While in jail on charges related to cutting his anklet, he told his cellmate that he had killed Armstrong with a hammer and that he was concerned about evidence that could still be in the couple's mobile home, police said.
When police searched the home, they found a hammer covered with blood and several large blood stains on the carpet, furniture and walls, according to the affidavit.
Using DNA collected from Armstrong's parents, a lab confirmed that the blood was a 99.9 percent match for Armstrong.
When investigators interviewed Funke again in January 2012, he admitted to killing Armstrong in the couple's trailer on July 8, police said.
He told investigators that Armstrong threatened him with a hammer during a fight, and that he took it from her and beat her repeatedly, according to the affidavit.
Funke said he then took a nap and thought the beating had been a dream until he awoke to find Armstrong dead on the floor, according to the affidavit.
Funke said he put Armstrong's body in a trash bin, which was picked up a short time later, and tried to clean up the blood with bleach.
Police tracked the trash to the Wabash Valley Landfill, where they spent six days searching through 6,000 tons of trash. No remains were found.
Funke's plea agreement must still be approved by Howard Superior Court 2 Judge Brant Parry.
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