The couple accused in the death of Loretta Saunders, a young Inuit woman killed last year, reversed course Wednesday and pleaded guilty to her murder on the day their trial was expected to begin.

Blake Leggette pleaded guilty in a Nova Scotia court to first-degree murder. He will get an automatic life sentence, with no possibility of parole for 25 years.

Victoria Henneberry also pleaded guilty to the charge of second-degree murder, which carries a life sentence and no chance of parole for at least 10 years.

An agreed statement of facts says Leggette and Henneberry moved to Halifax last January, and sublet a room from Saunders. But when Saunders arrived to collect rent money on Feb. 13, 2014, they couldnā€™t pay.

The document says Leggette came up from behind Saunders, grabbing her by the throat and choking her. It says he tried to suffocate her with a plastic bag, which she tore through. It says Leggette then tried to use three plastic bags, but Saunders ripped those, too.

After that didnā€™t work, he hit her head on the floor twice and Saunders stopped moving.

Henneberry remained during the struggle, the document said. Leggette then placed Saunders' body in a hockey bag, put it in the trunk of Saunders' own car and the pair drove to Salisbury, N.B., where they dumped it in a treed area.

The couple used Saundersā€™ bank card and sent text messages from her phone, pretending to be her, according to the statement.

Leggetteā€™s lawyer Tony Sheppard told reporters his client was aware what the sentence would be and that it was Leggetteā€™s idea to plead guilty.

"He did not want to have the Saunders family go through the very gruelling process of a public trial with all of that evidence coming out,ā€ Sheppard said.

Crown Attorney Christine Driscoll told reporters it is rare to change a plea so late in the process, but she was pleased that ā€œpeople are taking responsibility for their actions.ā€

Saundersā€™ family members, some of whom had travelled from Labrador for the hearing, smiled and hugged after they heard the news.

A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for next Wednesday, when family members will be get a chance to make victim impact statements.

Saunders, 26, was a student at Saint Mary's University, where her academic work focused on missing and murdered aboriginal women.

With files from The Canadian Press