Man methodically strangled FOUR children to stop them testifying against him after he murdered their mother... then stacked their bodies in a bathtub

An Oklahoma man has pleaded guilty in the strangling deaths of his ex-girlfriend and her four young children. Joshua Durcho, 29, avoided the death penalty by his guilty plea on five counts of first-degree murder, entered on Friday in El Reno, Oklahoma, for the brutal slayings of his 25-year-old former lover and her family. Durcho had strangled Rust and then killed her children because he feared they could testify against him. He then stacked the children's bodies in a bathtub partially filled with water in Rust's apartment. Brutal: Summer Rust and her children - 3-year-old Evynn Garas, 4-year-old Teagin Rust and 7-year-old daughters Kirsten and Autumn Rust - were killed in the family's El Reno, Oklahoma apartment in January 2009 Durcho was charged with first-degree murder for the January 2009 strangling deaths of Rust, 25, and her children - 3-year-old Evynn Garas, 4-year-old Teagin Rust and 7-year-old daughters Kirsten and Autumn Rust. Prosecutors said Durcho also sexually abused the 7-year-old girls. Rust was killed after an argument with Durcho because she threatened to call police on him when he refused to leave her apartment. After he killed the mom, he feared the children could serve as witnesses against him, so he methodically killed the little ones and left their bodies in the apartment, where they were discovered on January 12, 2009. The victims' family appeared in court on Friday to hear the plea and offer their forgiveness to Durcho. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole, a deal that family members agreed to. 'The death penalty wouldn't have made me feel any better than him being locked up forever,' said Rhonda Rust, stepmother of Summer Rust, the woman who was killed. Crystal Franklin, the grandmother of 3-year-old Evynn, said the plea brings 'closure to part of my life. But I have the rest of my life to remember this terrible tragedy.' 'I never got to hear what she wanted to be when she grew up,' the grieving grandmother added. In court, Franklin spoke directly to Durcho, who was weeping and had trouble standing at times. 'I do forgive you and may God be with you,' she said. One of Durcho's defense attorneys, John Echols, said Durcho met with family members privately before the hearing. He said Durcho apologized to them, but said he does not remember much of what happened the day of the killings. He told police that on that fateful January night in 2009, he had blacked out with his hands around Rust's neck. 'Everyone in the victims' families felt this was a better resolution,' Echols said. Jury selection for Durcho's trial had been set to begin Monday and prosecutors had sought the death penalty. Last month, Dr. Shawn Roberson, a forensic psychologist with the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, testified that Durcho's mental functioning was 'at the low borderline range.' Nonetheless, a judge rejected claims that Durcho is mentally disabled and ineligible for the death penalty. Oklahoma law bars death sentences if a defendant meets the state definition of mental retardation, which includes an IQ of 70 or below and 'significant limitations in adaptive functioning,' the real-life communications, self-care and work and social skills people need to live independently and function safely and appropriately. In addition, the onset of mental retardation must occur before the age of 18. Roberson said Durcho has been administered four IQ tests since he was 11 years old and scored between 72 and 78 on the tests. The most recent tests were administered in 2009 and 2010, and Durcho scored 72 on both.