A POKER champion from Kidderminster has admitted murdering his wife in America 16 years ago, court officials have confirmed.

Marcus Bebb-Jones pleaded guilty to murdering his wife Sabrina in 1997 before dumping her body in a Colorado national park.

The couple owned the Melrose Hotel in Grand Junction, Colorado, when Mrs Bebb-Jones disappeared.

Her skull was found in 2004 in a national park near Douglas Pass in north-west Colorado.

Professional gambler Bebb-Jones was arrested in 2009 in a raid at his home in Kidderminster amid accusations he went on to spend thousands of dollars on her credit cards before botching a suicide bid.

The 49-year-old lost his appeal against extradition to the US in 2011.

On Friday, at a hearing in the 9th Judicial District Court in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, Bebb-Jones admitted the murder, officials said.