News : Mackey pleads guilty to 1998 Indiana \'cold case\' murder

Clint Mackey has pleaded guilty to the 1998 murder of Erika Case in Indiana.

A former Vinton man who was arrested in January 2014 for a 1998 "cold case" murder in Terre Haute, Ind., has entered a plea agreement and will was sentenced to 40 years in prison on Monday.

Clint Mackey, 34, was 18 years old when Erika Case was stabbed to death in her home in September of 1998. Although he was a person of interest, investigators did not have enough evidence for an arrest until after the TNT series "Cold Justice" featured the case and helped cover the cost of some of the investigation.

Mackey, who was living in Vinton with his wife and three children at the time, turned himself in to the Benton County Sheriff's Office on Thursday, Jan. 23, 2014. On that date, according to investigators, he reversed his earlier statements and told detectives that he had indeed murdered Case on Sept. 5-6, 1998.

Mackey was extradited to Vigo County, Indiana, and originally pleaded not guilty. The Vigo County Superior Court record page indicates that Mackey's attorneys reached a plea agreement with prosecutors, which Mackey signed on July 15.

During Monday's sentencing the judge approved a 40-year sentence, although Mackey could serve less time for good behavior. Mackey may also be evaluated for the state's Purposeful Inceration program. Case's family members released red and white balloons outside the courthouse to remember her life.

See the first Vinton Today story about Mackey's arrest HERE.