Husband pleads guilty to killing wife in Pennypack Park

NORTHEAST PHILADELPHIA -- The man accused of killing his wife in Philadelphia's Pennypack Park last summer entered a guilty plea to 3rd-degree murder charges on Tuesday.

Christopher Murray broke down in tears and trembled as he apologized to their now teenage daughters and his wife's family.

The plea was part of a deal with the D.A. in which Murray will get up to 40 years in prison.

Investigators had said 46-year-old Connie Murray was out for a power walk when she was confronted by Christopher Murray.

Police say the confrontation was over text messages Christopher Murray got from a female friend.

Murray strangled his wife and left her body in the woods near Crispin Field back in August, 2014.

He initially reported her missing, but later failed a lie detector and then confessed to the crime.

According to authorities, it was 9:00 p.m. that night when Connie Murray took her cellphone and headphones and went for a walk around Pennypack Park.

Police say they recovered video of an encounter between Connie and Christopher on Willets Road soon after.

The video shows Christopher pulling his car up to Connie where she was walking. In the video, Connie sticks her head into the car, says something, and walks away. Christopher then drives away.

Police say they recovered the vehicle in the video, a silver Ford Taurus, which is the main car Christopher Murray drives.

Connie and Christopher then met by two park benches, where Connie's body would later be found, to discuss a domestic dispute.

That's when the murder occurred, police said, and Connie's body was found the next morning.