Man accused of killing girlfriend pleads not guilty

The man accused of killing his live-in girlfriend earlier this month has pleaded not guilty.

Eric Osborn was charged with 1st degree murder after he admitted to hitting Sarah McKay with a baseball bat and strangling her to death on March 7.

Osborn's attorney - Peter Persaud, of Iowa City - filled a written arraignment Thursday, according to Iowa Courts Online.

At about 9:30 p.m., Johnson County Sheriff's deputies responded to 18 Expo Drive. They found McKay, 34, dead in the back bedroom and Osborn, bleeding from the neck and arms, in the front seat of his truck outside.

Osborn, 26, told the deputies that he hit McKay in the head with a baseball bat around 3 a.m. Sunday, and then choked her because he didn't want her to suffer. He said they'd been drinking and that he had also smoked marijuana and taken some pills.

Osborn told investigators that he then blacked out and didn't remember what he'd done. He said that he tried to kill himself once he realized he'd killed McKay, which caused him to blackout again. Osborn told investigators that he had no idea why he killed McKay.

His bail is set at $1,000,000 cash.