'We got into an argument and I shot her in the head': Boy, 17, pleads guilty to shooting dead his long-distance girlfriend, 16, and hiding her in basement after meeting her in person for the first time - as judge says he faces 55 years in prison

A 17-year-old boy from South Dakota has admitted to fatally shooting his out-of-state 16-year-old girlfriend during an argument last fall.

Michael Gavin Campbell pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter on Thursday for killing Shayna Ritthaler, from Upton, Wyoming.

'We got into an argument and then I shot her,' the defendant said during his change-of-plea hearing at Meade County Court. 'I shot her in the head.'

Campbell faces 55 years in prison when he is sentenced later this year.  

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Michael Gavin Campbell, 17 (left), pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter for killing Shayna Ritthaler (right), a 16-year-old from Upton, Wyoming on Thursday 

Ritthaler's body was found on October 7 in the basement of the home Campbell shared with his mother after the pair met on an online dating site. 

Asked by Judge Kevin Krull if he had any justification for killing Ritthaler, the teen replied, 'No.' In court, the defendant referred to the victim as his girlfriend.

Both the prosecutor and the defense agreed to ask the judge to sentence the boy to 55 years in prison. Krull said he plans to follow that recommendation and that if he changes his mind, the defendant could withdraw his guilty plea.

The teen originally pleaded not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity to alternate counts of first- and second-degree murder.

Campbell is pictured arriving at Meade County Court on Thursday. 'We got into an argument and then I shot her,' the defendant said during his change-of-plea hearing

Under the proposed sentence, the defendant could seek parole after 27 years, when he is 44 years old. Sentencing is set for July 10.

Campbell and Ritthaler had been chatting online for a while but met in person for the first time when he killed her, Meade County State's Attorney Michele Bordewyk told the Rapid City Journal.

Ritthaler went missing October 3 after being seen getting into a Jeep-like vehicle at a coffee shop in Moorcroft, South Dakota. 

Her body was found on October 7 in the basement of the home her boyfriend shared with his mother east of Sturgis, near the Wyoming border.

The teenager's body was found when deputies and agents from the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation executed a search warrant on the request of the Lawrence County Sheriff's Office, which was working with investigators in Wyoming. 

Acting Meade County state’s attorney Michele Bordewyk said Campbell lived at the home in Blucksberg with his mother and that he had recently moved there from Brookings. 

Family members of both the defendant and the victim attended Thursday's hearing. Ritthaler's family said they weren't yet ready to speak.

Ahead of Thursday's hearing, MinDee Ritthaler, Shayna's mother, who now lives in Florida, wrote on Facebook: 'this waiting game is torture. Being 2 hours ahead means the wait is even longer. I want this day to be done (with good results). Then maybe we can truly begin the healing process...'

Earlier this week, before the plea deal was announced, Ritthaler shared on social media how she broke down in tears after almost dialing her dead daughter's phone number by mistake. 

'[May 4] makes 7 months since that pos stole my butterfly and made her an Angel,' the grieving mother wrote.  

In court, Campbell said he understood he was giving up his right to argue that he was mentally incompetent at the time of the shooting and that his case should be transferred to juvenile court, where he could have been imprisoned only until the age of 21. 

He also said he understood he was giving up his right that the judge should suppress statements he made to law enforcement and block all evidence from a search of his phone and home. He agreed with a special part of the plea deal that he is giving up his right to appeal.

Krull told the defendant that he can't have any contact with the Ritthaler family for the rest of his life and that he owed them more than $8,300 in restitution.

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Ritthaler (left and right) was reported missing in Moorcroft, South Dakota, on October 3. Her body was found in Campbell's basement in Blucksberg, Wyoming 

Bordewyk, the prosecutor, told the Journal that Ritthaler's family approved of the plea deal. Defense lawyer Steven Titus said it was unlikely that the judge would have agreed to transfer the teen to juvenile court.

Bordewyk said the two met on an online chat and dating website and that they planned for Ritthaler to run away and live with the defendant. It was the defendant who picked up Ritthaler from the coffee shop, driving his mother's vehicle, the prosecutor said.

Bordewyk said it's unclear how an argument between the pair escalated to the boy deciding to shoot Ritthaler. She said the teen used a handgun that belonged to his mother, who was not home at the time.

Titus, the defense attorney, said the shooting was not planned and that alcohol and drugs were involved. 

The defendant is being held on a $1million bond at juvenile jail in Rapid City. He will appear again in court on July 10 for formal sentencing.