HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) -- Former Deputy Horry County Coroner Christopher Dontell pleaded guilty to accessory and conspiracy charges Wednesday morning in the 2020 killing of Gregory Rice. Dontell, 41, of Conway, was also facing a murder charge in the killing of Gregory Vincent Rice in October 2020, but that charge was dropped as part of the plea agreement. Rice's body was found in the Pee Dee River on Nov. 8, 2020, according to authorities who said he had been shot multiple times. News13 photo: Alec DanielsNews13 photo: Alec DanielsNews13 photo: Alec DanielsNews13 photo: Alec DanielsNews13 photo: Alec DanielsNews13 photo: Alec DanielsNews13 photo: Alec DanielsNews13 photo: Alec DanielsNews13 photo: Alec DanielsNews13 photo: Alec DanielsNews13 photo: Alec DanielsNews13 photo: Alec DanielsNews13 photo: Alec DanielsNews13 photo: Alec DanielsNews13 photo: Alec DanielsNews13 photo: Alec DanielsNews13 photo: Alec DanielsNews13 photo: Alec DanielsNews13 photo: Alec DanielsNews13 photo: Alec DanielsNews13 photo: Alec DanielsNews13 photo: Alec DanielsNews13 photo: Alec DanielsNews13 photo: Alec DanielsNews13 photo: Alec DanielsNews13 photo: Alec Daniels Court resumed shortly after 10 a.m. Wednesday, and Circuit Judge Alex Hyman accepted Dontell's guilty pleas for the charges of accessory after the fact of murder and conspiracy to commit kidnapping. Prior to Dontell's pleading guilty, prosecutors said a tarp and two cinder blocks were used to dispose of Rice's body. There was also a video of Dontell leaving the area where Rice's body was dumped. As part of his plea agreement, Dontell agreed to testify against Meagan Jackson, who is also charged with murder in Rice's death. He will be sentenced after his testimony in that case, which has been scheduled for Feb. 10. He faces up to 15 years in prison on the conspiracy charge and between zero and years for the accessory charge. Rice's eldest son is also expected to give a victim impact statement at the sentencing. “While the State appreciates that he is finally accepting responsibility, it is important to note that he did not do so until the jury was sworn and the state was poised to make its opening statement, after he lost all his substantive pretrial motions,” Assistant 15th Circuit Solicitor Mary-Ellen Walter said after Dontell's plea hearing. Dontell and Jackson, the mother of Rice’s four children, were arrested in November 2020 after Rice’s body was found, but there have been multiple delays in their cases. Dontell’s case was postponed last June because of a scheduling conflict. “Greg Rice was a loving dad to five children and, because of his death, his oldest son had to assume his father’s role to his four younger siblings,” Walter said. “A special thanks goes to the Horry County Police Department, especially Detective Jared Soucy and Sergeant Ken Marcus, for their work on this investigation. The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division were also instrumental in this prosecution.” Jackson had been scheduled to go to trial in September, but her case was delayed. It was continued again last month, according to online Horry County records. Jury selection in the case took place on Monday, but proceedings were cut short by the judge on Tuesday because members of Rice's family could not be in court.