MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Erik Mendoza, an 18-year-old charged in the murder of 5-year-old Prince McCree, pleaded guilty on Monday, Feb. 16. 

McCree was found beaten to death inside a dumpster in October of 2023. 

Mendoza was 15 years old when investigators say he beat McCree with a barbell, golf club, and a birdbath. 

The now 18-year-old was set to face trial as an adult but pleaded guilty to five felony charges including first degree intentional homicide. 

Family members of both Mendoza and McCree sat in court, emotional, as Mendoza entered his guilty plea nearly two-and-a-half years after he was first charged. 

In October of 2023, McCree was reported missing by his mother. 

His body was found in a dumpster the next morning near Hawley and Vliet. 

Investigators say Mendoza and 27-year-old David Pietura strangled and beat McCree to death. 

Police say the two men then Duct-taped McCree's body and left him in a dumpster roughly one mile from where McCree was first reported missing. 

Pietura pleaded guilty to first degree intentional homicide in June of 2024 and was sentenced to life in prison. 

Mendoza initially pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. He was subjected to two psychological evaluations. 

Following McCree's death, the Prince Act was signed into state law by Gov. Tony Evers that allows emergency alerts for missing kids who don't meet the nationwide Amber Alert criteria. 

Mendoza will be sentenced in June where he faces a mandatory life sentence.