A Columbus man set to go on trial next week for the murder of an Ohio State student last January instead pleaded guilty Friday to the murder, receiving a life sentence with no possibility for parole for at least 30 years.

“As it is in most criminal cases, if it seems to be in the best interest of both parties, you will try to plea bargain,” said R. William Meeks, a defense attorney for Eric “Poppie” Spar. “It was in our client’s best interest to plea bargain to avoid the death penalty.”

Spar, 29, admitted in court on Friday that he “knowingly and willingly” conspired with two other defendants, Patrick Brunty and Michael Roskuski, to rob and kill Christopher “Gersh” Gerspacher. Gerspacher’s body was found in Delaware County near the Alum Creek Reservoir Jan. 29, 2002.

“(The plea bargain) happened very quickly, late on Friday afternoon while there were other proceedings,” Meeks said.

Spar admitted to being the mastermind behind the murder and paying Brunty to kill 26-year-old Gerspacher. If the trial had taken place and Spar had been convicted, he could have faced the death penalty.

“I contacted Mr. Brunty into helping me go ahead and go through with it. He was the one that was going to pull the trigger, and I paid him $10,000 worth of marijuana to do it,” Spar said in court Friday before Judge Everett Krueger.

Spar also said 20 pounds of marijuana, which included the marijuana used to pay Brunty, was stolen from Gerspacher.

The other two men involved in the slaying also chose to plead guilty instead of facing a jury trial.

“(Pleading guilty) is not at all uncommon. One of the most common techniques used by lawyers is to hold the death penalty over their head to get them to plead guilty to the crime,” said Joshua Dressler, professor at the Moritz College of Law.

Roskuski pleaded guilty to providing the gun with which Brunty shot Gerspacher. Roskuski, 34, of Delaware was sentenced to nine years for his role.

Brunty, 37, who pulled the trigger, pleaded guilty to all charges and is serving a life sentence with the possibility of parole after 20 years.

Gerspacher’s mother, Ilene Gerspacher, addressed Spar following his plea.

“You (Spar) are a diabolically evil man, and for all that is right, you should be in jail forever.

“You are a lucky individual, but there’s one thing that you don’t have control over. You had no control over us as a family. Our love for Christopher was great, was abundant, was overwhelming, and we would not rest, we did not rest, until we … found out who did this to our son,” she said.

Gerspacher, a history major at OSU, was reported missing by his parents Dec. 22, 2001. He was last seen at his Alden Avenue apartment.