Man Pleads Guilty in Slaying of NJ Softball Star

A southern New Jersey man has pleaded guilty to first-degree murder charges in the death of a former star softball player.

Stephen Headley of Florence faces a 30-year prison term -- with no chance of parole -- when he's sentenced Aug. 3.

But Burlington County prosecutors say they'll ask the judge to give Headley a life term.

The 30-year-old Headley admitted stabbing 22-year-old Nicole Ayres several times in the face, torso and back in September 2010 after they argued at a convenience store. Her body eventually was found near an athletic field in rural Southampton Township, south of Trenton.

Ayres was a former high school and college softball star from Deptford who had only known Headley a short time. Neither Headley nor prosecutors disclosed what the pair argued about.

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