USA - Louisiana. Serial killer Ronald Dominique suspected of killing as many as 23 men pleaded guilty today to 8 counts of 1st-degree murder in a deal to avoid the death penalty.

Serial killer Ronald Dominique suspected of killing as many as 23 men in south Louisiana between July 1997 and July 2005 pleaded guilty today to 8 counts of 1st-degree murder in a deal to avoid the death penalty. Dominique, 44, white, was then sentenced to serve 8 consecutive life terms. Dominique was arrested in December 2006 after DNA evidence apparently linked him to a murder in Terrebonne Parish. Once arrested, authorities say, Dominique confessed to several other murders that occurred between July 1997 and July 2005, offering information they say only the killer would have known. State District Judge Randy Bethancourt read the sentences and names of the 8 young men he raped and killed.