Adrian Ernest Bayley, 41, has admitted killing 29-year-old Jill Meagher in Melbourne last year.
He had previously admitted raping her but denied the murder charge, reports the BBC. HIs change of plea will spare the family a high-profile trial, which was due to start in September.
Meagher moved to Australia from Ireland in 2009 with her husband and worked for ABC radio. She went missing during a night out with colleagues and her body was discovered six days later buried outside the city.
BBC correspondant Phil Mercer, said there had been a huge turnout for Ms Meagher’s memorial rally and he had never seen “public revulsion on that scale”.
“A few weeks after Jill Meagher was murdered a crowd of about 30,000 people marched through the inner city district of Brunswick, in Melbourne, to remember Jill Meagher and also to highlight the broader concerns about violence against women,” he said.
“Certainly, this case did touch a very raw nerve in the city of Melbourne.
“Today, at least for Jill Meagher’s family and the people who knew her at the national broadcaster, ABC, perhaps this will be a bit of closure for them.”
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