Guilty Plea Entered In Mutilation Killing

LONGVIEW

Keith Anthony Barton pleaded guilty yesterday to the mutilation slaying of a Longview woman who he says he believed was Satan.

Barton, 30, was scheduled to go on trial next week on charges of second-degree murder, mutilation of human remains and unlawful disposal of human remains in the October slaying of Kellie South, 29.

Cowlitz County prosecutors agreed to drop the unlawful-disposal charge and a cocaine possession charge.

Superior Court Judge Dan McCulloch scheduled Barton's sentencing for June 11.

Based on Barton's criminal history, the standard sentencing range would be 14 to 19 years in prison. Barton has previously been convicted of second-degree burglary, attempted first-degree extortion and second-degree escape.

He has been in jail since Oct. 17, the day an off-duty Kelso patrolman found South's remains in a brushy area.

Detectives found South's shoes at Barton's apartment. They also found a bag of human blood in a trash bin and hair matching hers in a carpet cleaner he had rented.

In his written statement, which McCulloch read out loud, Barton had said, "I do recall intending to kill a person I believed was Satan and I accept responsibility for causing Kellie South's death and the dismemberment of her body."