guilty: Flanked by his attorneys Mark Rader, left, and Ken Hadley, a somber Gregory Cook prepares to leave the courtroom following his hearing Thursday in which he pleaded guilty to the murders of Shannon McKillop, Frank Scaramuzzi and Jeremiah Johnston. - The Observer/CHRIS BAXTER

With about 20 of the victims’ family members looking silently on in Union County Circuit Court Thursday, Gregory Alvin Cook pled guilty to the brutal July murders of Shannon McKillop, Jeremiah Johnston and Frank Scaramuzzi.

Cook, wearing shackles and dressed in a jail jumpsuit, hung his head and answered with the word “guilty” as Judge Russell West read off five charges one by one, including three of aggravated murder.

Before accepting the pleas, West asked Cook if he felt his attorneys, Mark Rader of Ontario and Ken Hadley of Baker City, have provided him with fair and adequate representation.

“Almost too good,” Cook replied. “I had wanted to plead to the death penalty.”

Formal sentencing is due Nov. 9. Aggravated murder carries a possible death sentence, but that is not an option in the Cook case.

According to a plea negotiation between the defense lawyers and the Union County District Attorney’s office, Cook will be sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole, and will never be allowed to appeal his sentence.

In addition, he is required to provide a truthful and detailed recitation of the crimes, verified by a polygraph test.

Also, he will be ordered to pay restitution to relatives of the victims, and is barred from profiting from his crimes by selling his story to the media. Any income or royalties will accrue for or be paid to the relatives.

The murders were committed in Elgin in mid-July. Cook, McKillop, Scaramuzzi and Johnston were known associates, and according the DA’s office had been seen together at the same time and location shortly before the murders.

McKillop’s dismembered body was discovered July 24 in and near a pond along Pumpkin Ridge Road in Elgin. Later, the bodies of Scaramuzzi and Johnston were found in a wooded area near Darr Road north of of Elgin.

Summing up the case Thursday, Thompson said Cook kidnapped, killed and dismembered McKillop and disposed of her body in several locations.

In criminal episodes termed separate from the McKillop homicide, Cook, who has a lengthy criminal record including felonies, used a firearm to kill Johnston and Scaramuzzi.

Cook, who is also known as Gregory Mitts, fled the area following the killings. He was arrested Aug. 3 near Rainier, Wash., following an intensive manhunt.

In the days after his capture, Cook admitted to reporters in Seattle and in La Grande that he did the killings. In La Grande, he said that he killed McKillop, 51, in the course of an argument and then killed Johnston, 28, and Scaramuzzi, 50, because they were witnesses. He blamed methamphetamine.

Originally, Cook had been charged with one count of murder and two counts of aggravated murder in the killings. Those charges were amended prior to Wednesday’s hearing.

They now include three counts of aggravated murder, one count of abuse of a corpse in the first degree and one count of being a felon is possession of a firearm.

Family members of the victims were not permitted to speak during Wednesday’s hearing, according to ground rules set by West.

The judge said family members would have the opportunity to make their feelings known to Cook and the court during the Nov. 9 sentencing.

West asked Thompson whether he had consulted with all family members before the plea agreement with Cook was reached. Thompson said he had, in a series of lengthy meetings.

After Thursday’s hearing, Thompson told The Observer that Cook’s required recitation of the crimes has already been compiled and will be presented during the sentencing.

According to Thompson, Cook stated that no one else was involved in the homicides. Thompson said the state believes that to be true.

“The polygraph shows that to be accurate,” Thompson said.

Thompson said the state did not want to pursue the death penalty for a variety of reasons, chief among them the fact that Cook agrees he may never appeal his sentence.

Thompson said most though not all of the victims’ survivors agree with the decision not to ask for the death penalty.

“It’s like a bell curve. Some say yes and some say no, though the vast majority want to go ahead and make sure he is incarcerated for life,” Thompson said.

Leo Kepplinger, Johnston’s stepfather, told The Observer that he has mixed feelings about the sentence.

“I wouldn’t have a problem with the death penalty, but he is going to live a miserable life. After that he’s got to answer to the Man, and sometimes, the Man says no,” Kepplinger said, gesturing downward with a thumb.

Pending sentencing, Cook is being held in the Umatilla County jail.