Man pleads guilty in 1985 Glen Ellyn murder of teen girl

WHEATON, Ill. (WLS) -- A central Illinois man has pleaded guilty to the 1985 rape and murder of a west suburban girl.

Michael Jones, 64, of Champaign, has pleaded guilty to the murder and sexual assault of Kristy Wesselman, 15, in 1985 in unincorporated Glen Ellyn.

Wesselman had left home in July of 1985 to go to a nearby grocery store. Investigators found her partially nude body in a field nearby. She had been stabbed at least eight times and had a shoelace tied around her neck.

Detectives collected DNA samples at the time. Those samples matched samples taken from Jones in 2015 following his arrest on an unrelated charge. Prosecutors say they also planned to introduce other evidence, including a Styrofoam cup from jail where they say Jones wrote the words, "I'm sorry for 1985."

Jones was scheduled for trial next Tuesday. He will now be sentenced that day. While he could face a maximum sentence of life in prison, the state is asking for 80 years.

Sandy Wesselman left the DuPage County Courthouse in Wheaton Thursday satisfied for the first time that she may see justice served for the murder of her daughter.

Sandy Wesselman, in a 2011 interview, said she has never given up hope.

"It's a matter of time before someone has the courage to come forward," she said.