MINNEAPOLIS — A man accused of killing a couple in Minneapolis on Christmas Eve of 1998 has pleaded guilty to the crime.

Thirty-seven-year-old Jason Preston entered the plea to two counts of second-degree murder in Hennepin County court Monday. Preston was charged with killing 18-year-old Carrie Richter and 20-year-old Dustin Baity when an argument over a drug debt escalated.

The case remained unsolved until 2014 when investigators matched DNA found at the scene to Preston.

Preston also told authorities he had an accomplice in the murders. But prosecutors say no other DNA was found at the apartment. Preston is expected to be sentenced to 48 years in prison in January.