An unexpected guilty plea from one of four suspects accused of taking part in a scheme to murder and hide the body of a Youngstown woman in a freezer.

During a hearing Thursday morning in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court, Prosecutor Dan Kasaris from the Ohio Attorney General's Office agreed to drop the aggravated murder charge against 33-year-old Arturo Nova in exchange for his guilty plea to 47 other charges related to the killing of 28-year-old Shannon Graves.

Youngstown Police Detectives and the coroner say that Graves was killed at her Mahoning Avenue home when she was struck in the head several times with a heavy object.

Novoa along with several others dismembered the victim's body, put her remains in trash bags and then stored them in a freezer in Campbell.

According to investigators Novoa also burned the torso and skull of Graves by pouring sulfuric acid on them.

The victim's sister Debbie DePaul says she's thankful that a killer is off the streets, and she's thankful Novoa will pay for his crimes.  "I'm happy with as much time as he can get in prison.  The way we started and where we are today, it's just by the grace of God, but her (Shannon Graves) hand's have been in it.

Novoa is schedule to be sentenced on June 14th on multiple counts including murder, abuse of a corpse, tampering with evidence, engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, drug trafficking and possession of criminal tools.

Novoa's co-conspirator, 36-year-old Katrina Layton plead guilty earlier to obstructing justice and abuse of a corpse after telling prosecutors she would testify against Novoa during his trial.

However, prosecutors this week filed a motion to vacate Layton's plea and sentencing agreement, claiming that she lied to investigators.  Layton has admitted to witnessing the murder, and then allowing the victim's body to be dismembered in her garage.  She even admitted to helping move the body.

Both Layton and Novoa were indicted on charges of aggravated murder, murder, and tampering with evidence after the Graves' body was found in the basement freezer of a home in Campbell in 2017.

Members of Graves' family reported her as missing in June 2017.

Novoa and Layton were arrested in July after a Campbell couple discovered Graves' frozen remains wrapped in trash bags.

Kenneth Eshenbaugh, the man whose wife discovered the body, told police Novoa claimed in mid-July that he had no electricity at his home and as a favor was allowed to bring the freezer to the couple's basement.

They discovered the remains when the wife opened the locked freezer thinking she could find some ground meat to make spaghetti sauce.

Authorities already revealed that Layton is the one who purchased the freezer in which Graves' body was found.