Man pleads guilty to woman's strangulation

A homeless sex offender pleaded guilty but also denied guilt in the strangulation death of a 39-year-old Sioux Falls woman.

Arthur Lee Brundige, 57, pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter Wednesday in the November killing of Sabrina White.

"I don't think I'm guilty. I just want to get this over with," he said in court.

Brundige repeatedly cut off that judge to say, "I know my rights. I'm a very intelligent person."

He said he doesn't agree with facts surrounding White's death. "Nothing is totally accurate, nothing is totally true."

When the judge asked Brundige what is wrong with the factual basis, he said, "Something about a chokehold and effecting her death."

He faces life with the possibility of parole at his sentencing. That date hasn't been set yet.

Sioux Falls Police began investigating White's death on Nov. 25 after a relative found her dead in her apartment on Western Avenue.

White's death was initially ruled an unattended death by detectives. But further investigation into her death revealed the circumstances surrounding her death did not add up.

An autopsy ordered by detectives determined White died by strangulation.

Detectives were able to locate several of White's acquaintances who had seen her last. They told police that Brundige and White had been introduced on Nov. 22 through mutual friends at her home. They said that night they left White's apartment about 11 p.m., but Brundige stayed.

In the coming days, detectives found Brundige and charged him with White's death.

At the time of White's death, Brundige was on probation for failing to register as a sex offender.

Brundige is a registered sex offender based on sexual conduct convictions in Minnesota and Nebraska in 1982 and 1989. He is on probation in Minnehaha County for failure to register.

His criminal history in South Dakota consists only of arrest for failure to register as a sex offender and impersonation to deceive a law enforcement officer.