A convicted killer from Harlingen was sentenced to 30 years in jail after pleading guilty to the death of his girlfriend.

Anthony Eliff took the plea deal on Tuesday after a judge said he reviewed evidence that was presented to him and he found Eliff guilty of murdering Elyn Loera.

Loera, identified as Eliff’s girlfriend, was visiting him from Corpus Christi when she disappeared in September 2019.

Loera’s remains were discovered in San Benito in 2020. Eliff was charged in connection with her murder in 2022 after DNA results showed the remains were Loera’s

“The reason I think he pled today is because he's a coward. He knew that he murdered this innocent young lady,” Cameron County District Attorney Luis V. Saenz said. 

“In a case like this, the discovery is voluminous and it did take some time. We were able to review everything and at the end of that the decision is solely Mr. Eliff to enter into this agreement,” defense attorney Aaron Rendon said.

On Oct. 2023, Eliff was convicted of shooting and killing his former roommate, Guillermo "Willy G." Garcia, who died in February 2020. He was sentenced to 75 years for murder, plus 20 years for unlawful possession of a firearm.

Eliff's new sentence will run concurrently with his previous one.