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Rachel Atkinson, now 30, pleaded guilty Oct. 24 to first-degree aggravated manslaughter in the fatal stabbing and beating of 86-year-old Navy veteran Arthur Seiple during a robbery at his Raritan Township, New Jersey, condominium.

Atkinson admitted in court that she attacked Seiple in mid-November 2008, according to the Hunterdon County Prosecutor's Office. Investigators said Atkinson and a roommate had planned to rob Seiple to buy heroin, and the theft netted less than $100.

Seiple, a retired U.S. Postal Service worker and World War II Navy veteran, was found dead on Nov. 14, 2008, by his daughter, Berit Osworth, who called 911 after finding him on the floor of his Yorkshire Court condo. Osworth told the dispatcher her father's throat had been slashed and that he had been killed. She also said Seiple had recently been spending time with "younger, not age-appropriate people," according to the call.

Authorities said Seiple had been stabbed multiple times in the chest and beaten in the face. In exchange for Atkinson's plea, the Hunterdon County Prosecutor's Office agreed to drop charges of murder, robbery and burglary that could have carried a sentence of 30 years to life.

Prosecutors are recommending a 25-year prison term with five years of parole supervision, though the judge is not bound by that recommendation and could impose as much as 30 years. Atkinson is scheduled to be sentenced in January. Her attorney, Louis Mangione Jr., has said she acted in self-defense against Seiple's aggressive demands for sexual contact, and Atkinson apologized to Seiple's family during the plea hearing.

A roommate identified by prosecutors as Nicole Kelly, 33, was also charged in the case. Kelly pleaded guilty in 2009 to burglary and hindering apprehension and was sentenced to three years in prison.