Minnehaha County Medical Examiner Kenneth Snell testified Monday during the pre-sentencing hearing of 49-year-old Rodney Berget.

Berget has pleaded guilty to killing Ronald Johnson on April 12- which was also Johnson's birthday.

Prosecutors say Berget and 49-year-old Eric Robert bashed Johnson with a pipe and placed plastic wrap around his head before stealing his uniform in an unsuccessful escape attempt.

Family members began to cry as autopsy photos were displayed and Snell testified that in his opinion, Johnson did not die right away.

Berget has said he wants a judge, not a jury, to decide whether he should be sentenced to death.

-Associated Press