Man Charged With Killing Woman At Budget Host Inn Pleads Guilty

A man charged with killing a homeless woan at the Budget Host Inn in Riverside iast year pleaded guilty on Wednesday.

Douglas Rico, 46, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to first-degree manslaughter after a May, 2011 incident at the Budget Host Inn in Riverside during which the homeless man allegedly killed homeless woman Henrietta Sholl, 53.

Rico is slated to be sentenced on Nov. 16 before Judge John Toomey Jr. in Suffolk County Criminal Court.

Southampton Police said Sholl, 53 was found on a bed at the inn at 11:56 a.m. on May 6, 2011. Police said no weapon was used in her killing, and that she had been at the hotel for more than one day.

In June, 2011 Rico originally pleaded not guilty to charges of manslaughter in the first degree at the State Supreme Court in Riverhead. Rico was originally accused of second degree manslaughter.

Rico has remained remanded to the Suffolk County Correctional Facility without bail.

Court records show that Rico was arrested on Dec. 10, 2010 on charges of criminal possession of a controlled substance. He was later released on an adjournment in contemplation of dismissal, meaning that if he was not arrested following his release, his charge would have been dropped. 

According to a Newday report, Rico admitted to suffocating Sholl with a pillow during sex in return for a plea that would mean no more than seven years in prison; the Suffolk County District attorney has asked for 10.