NILES, Mich. — A southwestern Michigan man who authorities say walked into a police department and confessed to killing his girlfriend has been convicted.

Berrien County Trial Court says 52-year-old James Parker Huffman of Niles was convicted Thursday of first-degree murder. He faces a mandatory term of life in prison without the possibility of parole at his sentencing, which is scheduled for April 30 in Niles.

In July, police said Huffman walked into the Niles police department and confessed to killing 52-year-old Angela Cluver, whose decomposing body was later found inside the home the two shared in Niles, which is located north of the border with Indiana.

An affidavit said Huffman told police he and Cluver made a suicide pact, and he used his hands to strangle her, but he didn’t kill himself.