Shadow McClaine murder update: Soldier pleads guilty, implicates ex-husband

Shadow's ex-husband Sgt. Jamal Williams-McCray faces multiple charges, and now he's pointing the finger at fellow soldier Charles Robinson.

But Army Specialist Charles Robinson is firing back in a Kentucky courtroom to save his own skin, revealing in detail the heartbreaking last moments in the brave young woman's life.

It's a mystery that began last September when Shadow vanished after a volatile split from her husband, revealing ugly details of a rocky marriage, charges of domestic abuse, and even rape.

The events leading up to Shadow's tragic end are murky. Her mother first reported her daughter missing after text messages weren't returned.

Shadow was last seen on the job at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, where she was an air-traffic controller.

Investigators zero in on the young soldier's ex-husband, Jamal Williams-McCray. Shadow's mom says they had a toxic relationship, claiming their fights were vicious and escalated to physical violence. Then, friends say, someone tried to kill her by cutting her car's brake lines in a barracks parking lot.

A few months later Shadow agrees to house-sit for her friend over Labor Day weekend. But Shadow never showed up.

Then three months after Shadow went missing, investigators arrested Shadow's ex-husband and another soldier, Specialist Charles Robinson, charging them both with murder.

Two months later any hope of finding Shadow turns to heartbreak. About 50 miles from the military base, along a busy Nashville highway, a passerby makes a gruesome discovery: skeletal remains positively identified as Shadow McClaine. Sadly the 25-year-old, arrived home -- in a way nobody wanted. Her remains were encased in a flag-draped coffin alongside a military escort.

Shadow is finally at rest, but questions still remain: How did she die, and who killed her? Her mom never had a doubt.

Now there's been an absolutely stunning new development from a court-martial trial in Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

Charles Robinson has pleaded guilty to murder, conspiracy and obstruction of justice. He admits that he slashed Shadow's throat, then broke her neck to make sure she was dead.

But Robinson portrays Shadow's ex-husband as the one with ice running through his veins. Robinson claims Williams-McCray hired him to murder Shadow. He says McCray lured Shadow to an exit off Interstate 24, then walked her out for slaughter into the high grass where Robinson was lying in wait. Then Robinson told the court his Army buddy sat and watched as he murdered Shadow. Robinson said Williams-McCray promised him $10,000 for the kill, but only paid him $200.

Robinson's cooperation gets him a deal: 25 years in prison.

Jamal Williams-McCray faces multiple charges, including murder. No trial date has been set.