Former NCAA basketball star Keith Apling pleaded guilty to murder in 2021

Former Michigan State University basketball player Keith Appling pleads guilty to manslaughter in 2021, CBS Detroit informed.

On Monday, Appling, 31, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and weapons charges, CBS Detroit reported. He faces 18 to 40 years in prison on the murder charge and two years on the firearm charge. Apling’s sentencing is set for March 3.

Appling was charged with killing Clyde Edmonds, 66, whose wife is a cousin of Appling’s mother, during an argument over a gun in May 2021, CBS Detroit reported. Apling fled the scene after shooting Edmonds multiple times, prosecutors said.

Appling’s ex-girlfriend, Natalie Bannister, 30, was sentenced to 18 months of probation after pleading guilty to lying to a police officer in July 2022, CBS Detroit reports.

A former star athlete, Appling started 154 games and scored 1,509 points during his four-year career with the Spartans. CBS Sports reported in 2021. He played five NBA games for the Orlando Magic in 2016.

At the time he was charged, Wayne County District Attorney Kim Worthy said Appling’s downward spiral was “tragic.”

“It was clear that this person had been on a downward spiral for some time,” Worthy said. “Many of those who tried to intervene in this defendant’s case hoped that he would get on the right track and stay there. It is always tragic when a man of such promise, talent and potential is accused of the most serious crimes. .”