A guilty plea to a reduced charge has been made in Arizona by the man who fatally bludgeoned a recent Northfield High School graduate soon after she ended their romance.

Luis Soltero, 23, is scheduled to be sentenced April 9 in Maricopa County for killing Rebecca Kasper in April 2013.

Soltero pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, kidnapping and abuse. He is expected to receive a prison term of at least 25 years, with no chance for early release. Dismissed was a charge of a first-degree murder, which in Arizona carries the possibility of the death penalty.

Kasper lived in Northfield and St. Cloud for much of her life. After graduating high school in 2011, she moved to Arizona, where her family lived for a few years, to study business at Arizona State University in Tempe.

Soon after Kasper was killed, Soltero drove her car to a Tempe police substation, showed officers her Minnesota driver's license and said she was dead. Her death came soon after she broke off the relationship.

Police found Kasper's body, beaten beyond recognition, in the bathtub of Soltero's apartment.

Kasper's father said his daughter met Soltero last summer while selling books in North Carolina, and he had spent Christmas with the Kasper family in Northfield. Kasper had spent Easter with Soltero's family, her father said.

She was born and spent her youth in St. Cloud, before the family moved to Arizona. They came back to Minnesota in 2007, settling in Northfield. She was considered a gifted student at Northfield High and was a cheerleader.

Kasper had returned to Arizona to attend the W.P. Carey School of Business in Tempe.

Staff writer Joy Powell contributed to this report. Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482