An Anchorage man pleaded guilty to murder Thursday for the stabbing death of another man in the early morning hours of New Year's Day, 2007.
Keilan Ebli, now 25, faces up to 99 years for second-degree murder at his sentencing, scheduled for May 27.
Ebli stabbed William Oestreich with a large kitchen knife outside Ebli's 16th Avenue apartment building, according to state prosecutors at the Anchorage District Attorney's Office.
A dispute between the men started when Oestreich accused Ebli of sexually assaulting Oestreich's girlfriend's daughter. The 17-year-old had passed out at Ebli's apartment and he had sex with her, prosecutors said at the time.
After Oestreich confronted Ebli, a neighbor intervened and broke up the fight. But as Oestreich left to go to his truck, Ebli ran after him with a knife from his kitchen, screaming "I'm going to kill you," according to court documents obtained by the Daily News in 2007.
Ebli stabbed Oestreich three times outside the apartments, prosecutors said.
Police charged Ebli with first-degree murder and first-degree sexual assault.
Under Thursday's plea agreement, prosecutors dropped the rape charge and reduced the murder charge to second-degree, Assistant District Attorney Clint Campion said.
Prosecutors consulted with the alleged rape victim, who was OK with leaving out the rape charge, Campion said. The family wanted to go after Ebli for the murder, he said.
Two others died in murders that New Year's morning in incidents unrelated to this stabbing.
In December, state Superior Court Judge Michael Spaan -- the same judge who accepted Ebli's guilty plea -- sentenced Ryan Sanders, 27, to 101 years in prison for the shooting deaths of Travis Moore and Ashlee Richards.
Reach Casey Grove at casey.grove@adn.com or 257-4589.
By CASEY GROVE
casey.grove@adn.com