An Oregon resident has confessed to the murder of his girlfriend following a domestic dispute, subsequently concealing her body in a plastic container and discarding it in a wooded area.

William Glen Blake, aged 56, entered a guilty plea in Clackamas County Circuit Court this week for the second-degree murder of 38-year-old Jennifer Ruth Stuart. He received a life sentence, with the possibility of parole after serving 25 years.

Under a plea agreement with the prosecution, additional charges against Blake were dropped, as reported by the Clackamas County District Attorney’s Office. Previously, he was also charged with corpse abuse, unlawful weapon use with a domestic intent, and evidence tampering.

On August 14, the couple was at their residence on Hilltop Lane in Oregon City when an argument escalated, leading Blake to fatally shoot Stuart. Following the incident, he reportedly visited a Home Depot to purchase a large tote, garbage bags, and gloves, as detailed by authorities.

Investigators suspect Blake’s 15-year-old son assisted in moving Stuart’s body, possibly using a 2002 red and gray Chevrolet Avalanche pickup truck. Authorities also intended to question his 17-year-old son in relation to the incident.

Investigators suspect Blake brought Stuart’s body to Mount Hood National Forest, citing surveillance footage from Home Depot and the area near where her body was found. “Blake initially put Stuart’s body in the large tote but later retrieved the tote, fearing it could tie him to the body,” prosecutors said.

About two weeks later, a couple were hunting off Hillockborn Road in the forest when they “noted the presence of turkey vultures swarming around an object and saw what appeared to be human remains.” The Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office used fingerprints to identify the body as Stuart’s, and an autopsy determined she died from a gunshot wound to the lower left side of her body.

According to investigators, “Blake had a history of physical[ly] abusing Stuart,” with one of their neighbors telling police he “regularly” hurt her. He was identified as a “primary suspect,” and law enforcement searched his home. The second time they did so, they reportedly found the tote.

Blake was arrested, and in an interview with detectives, he “admitted to shooting Stuart and leaving her body in the woods,” authorities said.

Stuart’s mother — Elizabeth Stuart — expressed grief over what Blake did.

“To end being shot, crammed into a plastic container … loaded up like an animal … dumped out like trash … is unfathomable,” Elizabeth Stuart said in her victim impact statement, also calling Blake a “rabid, savage beast.”

Blake’s 15-year-old son, who was not named, was arrested and placed in the Clackamas County Juvenile Intake and Assessment Center on charges of abuse of a corpse and tampering with physical evidence, the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office said on Oct. 23. It is unclear if he still faces charges. The sheriff’s office did not announce arresting Blake’s 17-year-old son, though it noted deputies spoke with him.

Law&Crime reached out to the Clackamas County District Attorney’s Office for more information.