PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. (WCAX) – A North Country man on Monday pleaded guilty to murdering his wife and hiding her body.
Prosecutors say Scott Tyrell, 58, of Peru, New York, strangled his wife, Lisa Dashnaw, 57, and then hid her body in the trunk of a rental car for months. Her body was discovered in May.
Tyrell was charged with second-degree murder and concealment of a human corpse.
He was due in court on Monday for a suppression hearing on statements he made to investigators. But before the hearing started, Tyrell told the court he wanted to plead guilty to the indictment and leave sentencing to the court.
Clinton County District Attorney Wylie said his office and members of the Dashnaw family were surprised by Tyrell’s plea, but Wylie said the plea brings an end to this chapter of the case and some closure to the Dashnaw family.
The judge scheduled Tyrell to be sentenced on Nov. 18. He faces a maximum of 25 years to life for murder.
Tyrell told police that sometime in late March, he strangled Dashnaw after they argued, and then hid her body in the rental car until it was repossessed in May. That’s when Enterprise Rental Car employees in Plattsburgh discovered her body and called the police.