Handyman admits killing actress during robbery

NEW YORK - A construction worker who admitted he strangled an actress while robbing her in her apartment and then hanged her to make the death look like a suicide pleaded guilty yesterday to manslaughter.

Diego Pillco, 20, admitted he killed Adrienne Shelly, 40, in her Manhattan flat after going through her purse. He was promised a sentence on March 6 of 25 years in prison.

State Supreme Court Justice Carol Berkman said Pillco, who is from Ecuador, South America, and is in the United States illegally, is subject to immediate deportation upon release from prison.

Shelly, born Adrienne Levine, appeared in the 2005 movie "Factotum" with Matt Dillon. She made her directorial debut with "Sudden Manhattan" in 1996, and she wrote, directed and co-starred in "Waitress," which also featured Keri Russell.

With Shelly's mother, brothers, other relatives and friends present, Pillco explained to the court how he killed her on Nov. 1, 2006. His story differed considerably from the account he initially gave police.

The defendant first said he was renovating a third-floor apartment in Greenwich Village when Shelly came down and complained that he was making too much noise.

Pillco initially said she called him names, they fought and he killed her accidentally. He said he then hanged her with a bed sheet to make her death look like suicide. *