COLUMBUS, Ga. (WRBL) — Cedric Phillips, 45, entered a guilty plea Thursday morning in Superior Court to the May 2020 murder of 54-year-old Ricky Belwood.

Both the man accused and the victim were homeless when Phillips beat Belwood to death near the Chattahoochee Riverwalk in an area that homeless people used to congregate.

Judge John Martin sentenced Phillips to life in prison with the possibility of parole.

The pavilion near when Belwood was killed has since been demolished.