BELLEFONTAINE — A plea deal in the case against Samuel Littleton II, who is accused of killing three people and causing a nationwide manhunt in February, has been reached, making way for his sentencing as early as Thursday.

Logan County Assistant Prosecutor Eric Stewart told WHIO-TV Monday night that Littleton, through his attorney, has offered to plead guilty to three counts of aggravated murder in return for a life sentence without possibility of parole. He said Littleton “has no chance for parole. No chance for appeal.”

Authorities said Littleton, 37, of Bellefontaine, has confessed to killing Dick and Gladis Russell, both in their 80s, and dumping their bodies in Tennessee and Georgia, respectively.

Littleton also is accused of killing Tiffany L. Brown, 26, the daughter of Littleton’s girlfriend. She was found stabbed to death under a wood pile in Littleton’s basement.

Littleton was arrested in West Virginia and has been fighting extradition to Ohio.

The case will be presented to a Logan County grand jury today. Stewart said Littleton is expected to waive extradition to Ohio on Wednesday. He will be brought back to Logan County where he will appear Thursday to enter his guilty pleas and be sentenced.

Susan Coder, a niece of the Russells, said family members met with Logan County authorities Monday to discuss the agreement. While Coder said the decision was not easy, most family members said there was little to gain if the case went to trial. “The fact that he’s pleading and will take life imprisonment without parole, that’s in effect a death sentence,” Coder said.

While the decision was difficult, Coder said a quick resolution would be easier for the family than a drawn-out legal process. Even with a trial, she said the family may never know the full story of what happened to the Russells and Tiffany Brown.

“Even now we don’t know if we are ever going to get all our questions answered,” Coder said.

The murders still seem unreal to some family members, she said, and it’s not clear there will ever be any real closure.

“Our life will get back to normal,” Coder said. “It’ll be a different normal than before.”