JK Athree pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the stabbing death of Jermel Ellington.

A guilty plea to an amended count is an admission on that count. It is not the sentence until the court imposes it. The Sioux City Journal reported the agreement calls for 50 years and that sentencing is Dec. 11. What Athree said in court about how many times he stabbed Ellington is not the number in the accusation the public defender described. That gap is now part of the record the judge will sentence on.

The Sioux City Journal reported Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026, that JK Athree, 18, pleaded guilty in Woodbury County to second-degree murder, amended from first-degree murder, in the Jan. 1 stabbing death of Jermel Ellington, 43, of Sioux City. The Journal reported that before the plea Athree said, "I killed another person." It reported the agreement calls for a 50-year prison sentence, that he must serve at least 20 years before he is eligible for parole, and that he must pay $150,000 in restitution to Ellington's estate. Sentencing is set for Dec. 11 in Woodbury County District Court. The Journal reported he remains in the Woodbury County Jail and that his bond was revoked after the plea. A plea to a lesser count is the admission. The 50 years are what the agreement says the court will impose. They are not imposed until Dec. 11.

The Journal reported that by pleading to the amended charge, Athree avoided a potential life sentence on first-degree murder. It reported that if a jury had convicted him of first-degree murder he would have faced life in prison, though he could have received a mandatory minimum with the possibility of parole because he was 17 at the time of the stabbing. Adults convicted of first-degree murder in Iowa are sentenced to life without parole. KTIV reported he pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder on Jan. 21, that a request to move the case to juvenile court was denied on July 10, and that the plea agreement filed before Wednesday called for the same 50-year maximum and the $150,000 restitution. A juvenile-court denial kept the case in adult court. It did not decide the count he admitted Wednesday.

The Journal reported the stabbing happened while Athree and others were sitting in a car drinking, parked behind 409 Cook St. Public defender Brendan Kelly said at Wednesday's hearing that the medical examiner who conducted the autopsy testified in a deposition that Ellington died of a wound that severed the femoral artery in his thigh, the Journal reported, and that Athree was accused of stabbing Ellington about 16 times in the thigh, back, neck, and chest. Athree said Wednesday that he stabbed Ellington "three or four times," and, "I stabbed him in the back," the Journal reported. A deposition summary from a defense lawyer is not the examiner on the stand. A defendant's count of the blows, given in a plea hearing, is not the autopsy. Both numbers are now in the record. They are not the same number.

The Journal reported the hearing also covered an earlier fight. It reported that in October, an intoxicated Athree was walking and opening car doors looking for things to steal, that Ellington was in one of the cars, got out, and stabbed Athree with a screwdriver while they fought. On Jan. 1, the Journal reported, one of Athree's companions invited Ellington into the car. Athree was in the front seat, noticed Ellington get into the back, the two exchanged words, and Athree stabbed him. Athree then went into his family's home and asked for help hiding the body. His family called police, who found Ellington's body and two other people in the car. The Journal reported that in his police interview Athree admitted being in the car, said he knew Ellington was dead, and said Ellington had been dead for more than an hour while Athree sat in the car listening to music. That interview is the account he gave detectives. Wednesday's plea is the count he admitted. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.