Roy Hartsock, accused of the brutal January stabbing murder of his wife, Jenny, pleaded guilty to manslaughter this afternoon in a plea bargain that even members of his own family found offensive.

Prosecutors defended the deal by pointing out that Hartsock will receive the same sentence — life in prison with the possibility of parole — that he would have received had he gone to trial and been convicted of second-degree murder.

The father of the victim, Thomas Uejo, objected to the plea in court, telling Circuit Judge Richard Pollack that he was afraid Hartsock, 40, would find a way to gain parole from prison.

Hartsock was on parole when he stabbed Jenny Hartsock multiple times in the chest Jan. 9 at the couple's Gulick Avenue apartment.

Hartsock, 40, "is an expert manipulator, a liar and a very big coward," Uejo told Pollack.

His sister-in-law, Andrea Hartsock, asked Pollack to punish him "to the full extent of the law, without any possibility of parole."

Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Jeen Kwok said the plea agreement "guarantees a life term in prison" for Hartsock.

Going to trial always carries a risk and Kwok said that, given the terms of the plea agreement, trying Hartsock for murder posed "a risk that I would not take, and will not take."