An Alabama has pleaded guilty in connection with the 2019 death of 29-year-old Paighton Houston, of Trussville.

According to Al.com, Frederick Hampton pleaded guilty “before Jefferson County Circuit Judge Thomas Thrash” Monday, the day his trial was scheduled to take place. He was sentenced to serve 20 years in prison, followed by 3-5 years on probation.

As CrimeOnline previously reported, police found Houston’s body in 2020 after Hampton hid her “shallow hole” at an abandoned home in Alabama before fleeing the state. The home belonged to one of Hampton’s relatives.

“We have evidence that the victim died the next day at a house on McClain Street, in Brighton,” Chief Deputy David Agee said in January 2020. “We have evidence that after the victim died, her body was disposed of by Frederick Hampton, in a criminal matter.”

Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal Cliff LaBarge said police found Hampton hiding in a home off of Eastwood Boulevard in Garfield Heights, Ohio. Hampton eventually surrendered and was extradited back to Alabama.

The Jefferson County Coroner’s Office indicated that Houston passed away from accidental morphine and methamphetamine overdose. Investigators said there was no obvious physical trauma found on Houston’s body.

Houston was last seen alive on December 20, 2019, after reportedly going to the Tin Roof bar in downtown Birmingham after work. Someone later contacted Houston’s family and said Houston was last seen leaving the bar at around 10:45 p.m. with “two heavy set black males.” Houston’s family then called 911 and relayed the information.

Houston’s family later sued the bar and the city, arguing that Tin Roof was legally responsible for providing a safe place for customers with working security cameras.

According to online court documents, Hampton was previously convicted of rape and sodomy charges in Jefferson County. Three men held a woman at gunpoint after they spotted her at a bus stop in Birmingham on March 5, 1991.

The men took a victim to a home where four other men were present. Hampton, along with his brother, Timothy Hampton, were among the group of men.

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According to court testimony, the men forced the victim to perform various sexual acts against her will. Hampton spent 20 years behind bars before his 2012 release.

Three months after his release, Hampton was arrested and charged when he failed to register as a sex offender, according to 6WBRC. A month before Houston disappeared, Hampton was given a suspended sentence and placed on probation.

“He will be apprehended,” Washington previously said. “He will be held accountable.”

Hampton will get credit for time served. His attorney added that Hampton took the plea deal since he thought it was his “best option.”

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[Feature Photo: Frederick Hampton/Police Handout; Paighton Houston/Handout]