INDIANAPOLIS — Days before he died, Nakota Kelly told his mother he was afraid to go to his father's house for a court-ordered visit.
"Oh, I’m dead," the 10-year-old boy said, according to court records. "Don’t expect me to come home. My dad is going to kill me."
On Friday, more than three years after that last visit, Anthony Dibiah, 40, entered a plea of guilty but mentally ill and admitted in court that he killed Nakota.
Dibiah wore handcuffs and an orange jail jumpsuit when deputies ushered him in to Marion Superior Court.
He answered "yes" to a sting of questions from Judge Shatrese Flowers — in one of those answers, he admitted to the murder.
Nakota lived with his mother in Wabash and was on a court-ordered weekend visit when prosecutors say Dibiah smothered the boy to death on July 18, 2020, did something to dispose of the boy's body and fled the state.
Police found blood smears and brain matter in Dibiah's Indianapolis apartment. In court Friday, prosecutors said that blood and tissue matched Nakota's DNA.
Prosecutors revealed on Friday that blood stains found in the back of Dibiah's Jeep Patriot also matched Nakota.
Police still have not found Nakota's body.
Dibiah will have a chance to tell what happened to Nakota during his sentencing hearing scheduled on Oct. 25.
More: The last visit: Nakota Kelly's short life ends in violence at his father's home
Flowers took the guilty plea deal under advisement on Friday. If she accepts the agreement, Dibiah faces a sentence of 45 to 55 years in prison. A murder charge in Indiana carries a sentence of 45 to 65 years in prison.
Dibiah told the judge he has been diagnosed with schizophrenia, but said he understands the charges, court proceedings and the sentence he could face.
Dibiah's plea of guilty but mentally ill means he would be evaluated and treated for mental illness while he serves his prison sentence.
Read the WRTV exclusive Nakota's story:
Part 1 | Love and lies: How a single mom from Wabash fell in love with a man with five names;
Part 2 | 'Unsubstantiated': DCS investigated at least five abuse complaints against Nakota Kelly's father;
Part 3 | The last visit: Nakota Kelly's short life ends in violence at his father's home
More: 'If they had just listened to Nakota': Mom sues DCS for failing to protect Nakota Kelly | Trial delayed for man accused of killing his son Nakota Kelly | Dad accused of killing Nakota Kelly claims police search was illegal, wants evidence suppressed | IMPD justified in searching apartment of father accused of killing Nakota Kelly, court finds | Father agrees to plead guilty but mentally ill in death of Nakota Kelly, records show | Father pleading guilty but mentally ill in Nakota Kelly's death. Here's what that means in Indiana.
Contact WRTV reporter Vic Ryckaert at victor.ryckaert@wrtv.com or on Twitter: @vicryc.
