COLUMBUS, Ohio — A man accused of posting videos on social media of himself beating another man to death in 2021 changed his plea on Thursday.
Timothy Kendrick, 35, pleaded guilty to charges of aggravated murder, murder, kidnapping, tampering with evidence and gross abuse of a corpse.
Kendrick was accused of killing 30-year-old Drew Mendelbaum, whose beaten and burned body was found in July 2021 in the 4600 block of Sawmill Road.
Officers with the Columbus Division of Police were called to a business on Sawmill Road after a janitor spotted what she believed was a body.
Police said Kendrick met Mendelbaum at a gas station and the two went back to Kendrick's hotel room to drink.
Police say Mendelbam had been stabbed more than 45 times, beaten and his body was set on fire. He was found burned and covered in a shower curtain with zip ties around his ankles.
He was left just outside of a business complex.
Investigators arrested Kendrick shortly after they said they found Snapchat videos of the torture. He initially pleaded not guilty to the charges but filed a request on Thursday to change it.
Kendrick's trial began on Tuesday when jurors saw graphic pictures of Mendelbaum's body and the inside of the hotel room where investigators say the beating took place.
Kendrick could serve up to life in prison for aggravated murder. His sentencing date is scheduled for July 16.
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