NASHVILLE — A Memphis teenager on Tuesday, Sept. 3 apologized and pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the stabbing death of his principal in 2011.

Eduardo Marmolejo, 18, accepted a plea that will send him to prison for 35 years, without the possibility of parole.

“I apologize for my bad behavior,” he told the court. “It was wrong what I did.”

Police found the body of Suzette York, 49, on Aug. 10, 2011, in a classroom at Memphis Junior Academy. She had suffered multiple stab wounds to the throat, face and neck.  Marmolejo was later arrested in relation to the murder. He told police he did not like York, who was also his teacher.

Investigators said Marmolejo had spent months planning the attack on York. He was 16 at the time of the killing, but the court decided to try him as an adult.