BUFFALO, Minn. — A Hutchinson man has pleaded guilty in the death of a 25-year-old man whose fragmentary remains were found in a fire pit last fall.

Twenty-nine-year-old Robert Nuttall pleaded guilty to felony unintentional murder Friday as jury selection in his trial was about to begin.

Nuttall had been charged with first-degree murder in the death of Christopher Rossing.

A criminal complaint said Nuttall beat Rossing unconscious during an argument August 2014 after a night of drinking. Sheriff’s officials executed a search warrant at Nutall’s Hutchinson farm in October and found bone fragments and teeth in a fire pit. Dental records later confirmed the remains belonged to Rossing.

Wright County Attorney Tom Kelly said without a body, it would have been difficult to prove intentional homicide.

Sentencing is set for Oct. 30.