BELLEVILLE, Ill. (AP) — An East St. Louis man faces up to four decades in prison next month now that he's admitted fatally stabbing his next-door neighbor more than two years ago.

The Belleville News-Democrat reports that 35-year-old Terry Morgan pleaded guilty to first-degree murder Wednesday as his St. Clair County trial was unfolding in Belleville.

Morgan's plea in the November 2010 death of 20-year-old Rolandus Carter was part of a deal with prosecutors, who agree not to seek more than 40 years in prison.

Morgan's sentencing hearing is scheduled for Feb. 19.