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Marchant pleads guilty to Sierra Bush murder

Marchant pleads guilty to Sierra Bush murder
Posted at 11:24 AM, Sep 05, 2017
and last updated 2017-09-05 13:24:04-04

A man accused of killing a Boise State University student entered a guilty plea on a charge of first-degree murder Tuesday morning in an Ada County courtroom. Bruce Marchant, 62, was originally charged with rape, murder and kidnapping.

Marchant reached a plea agreement with the Ada County Prosecutor’s Office in which prosecutors agreed to drop the rape and kidnapping charges in turn for him pleading guilty to murder.

He’s accused of murdering BSU student Sierra Bush, 18, October 22nd of last year and dumping near body near Idaho City.

Marchant was arrested the following month in New York City, after authorities found him at a Veterans Affairs hospital. He was extradited to Idaho earlier this year.

Sierra Bush –- also known as Simon Bush –- disappeared September of last year.

In court, Marchant admitted suffering from a number of mental disorders, including, ADD, PTSD and schizophrenia.

By entering his guilty plea, Marchant now faces the possibility of life in prison with parole.

Marchant’s trial was originally scheduled for November 1st. The trail has now been vacated.

Reports say Marchant once lived in a west Boise house owned by the victim’s father, but that Marchant had not lived there for several months prior to the murder.