Man pleads guilty to murder charge in missing wife’s death

CANTON, Ohio – An Ohio man who initially said his wife died of natural causes during their trip to Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee, has pleaded guilty to aggravated murder and other charges in her death.

Seventy-three-year-old Philip Snider, of Hartville, pleaded guilty Monday in Canton. A plea agreement calls for him to disclose where he put 70-year-old Roberta Snider’s body. In return, prosecutors have agreed to recommend a sentence of 20 years to life in prison.

No motive has been released.

In January, Snider told police his wife died of natural causes on the trip, emergency workers took her body and she was cremated. He later said he threw her body into the Tennessee River.

Authorities couldn’t find the body or any record of her death.

A message was left for Snider’s attorney.