Gregerson pleads guilty, gets life for killing Destiny

Destiny Norton's parents held each other and sobbed as a judge meticulously questioned Craig Roger Gregerson over the details of his guilty plea.

"Do you feel you are guilty of both the crimes you have been charged with?" 3rd District Court Judge Robin Reese asked him.

"Yes, I do," Gregerson replied softly.

Gregerson, 20, pleaded guilty to aggravated murder and child kidnapping in the death of Destiny Norton, a 5-year-old girl with green streaks in her blond hair and a mischievous smile full of silver-capped teeth.

Her backyard disappearance on July 16 launched a massive eight-day search, which ended when Salt Lake police discovered the little girl's body inside a plastic storage bin in Gregerson's basement — just two doors away from the Norton home.

In a guilty-plea statement read by his lawyer, Michael Peterson, Gregerson admitted to killing Destiny: "I placed my hand over her mouth, and she suffocated and died."

Gregerson admitted to luring Destiny from her back yard into his apartment. When she said she wanted to go home, Gregerson said he restrained her. After she died, police said Gregerson raped Destiny's body and then stuffed it in a plastic storage bin in his basement.

He admitted to killing her under questioning by an FBI agent and even said he had fantasized about kidnapping her in the past.

Gregerson apologizes

The plea deal spares Gregerson the death penalty. He was immediately sentenced Monday to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder, and he received an additional 15 years to life in prison for kidnapping the 5-year-old girl.

The deal was made at the request of Destiny's family, who prosecutors said did not want to keep reliving the tragedy through years of court proceedings.

"He's not going to hurt anybody else. In the end, he'll get what he deserves," Destiny's mother, Rachael Norton, said outside of court. Her husband, Ricky Norton, buried his face in her shoulder while he sobbed quietly.

In a handwritten letter to Destiny's family, Gregerson offered an apology for the murder.