40 years later, an Edwardsburg man has pleaded guilty to murdering his cousin.

ABC 57 reports 57-year-old Raymond Richmond agreed to a plea deal Tuesday in Cass County Court.

He killed Robert Stasiak in November of 1977 in Ontwa Township. Stasiak’s death was initially ruled a suicide, but the case was later re-opened.

Richmond reportedly admitted to relatives in 1993 that he murdered Stasiak because he flushed marijuana down a toilet. He also reportedly made verbal and handwritten statements about murdering Stasiak while at Oaklawn Hospital, according to court documents.

Richmond’s plea deal calls for a sentence of 12 to 18 years in prison. He’ll be officially sentenced Sept. 15.