ELIZABETHTOWN — Two Plattsburgh men pled guilty to manslaughter on Wednesday in connection with the stabbing of Kenneth Darrah at AuSable Chasm last year, Essex County District Attorney Kristy Sprague announced Thursday.

Michael J. Rougeau, 49, and Michael A. Nastasia, 31, both entered pleas of guilty to manslaughter in the first degree, a class B felony, on Wednesday. The men said under oath that the killing was motivated by their shared belief that Darrah, 37, was a “snitch” who had provided police with incriminating information about their friends and relatives. Their sentencings are scheduled for March 25.

New York State Police found Darrah’s body on the north bank of the AuSable River underneath the AuSable Chasm Bridge in Chesterfield in the early hours of March 20, 2023. He was killed the previous night. Police initially reported the case as a “suspicious” death, later describing Darrah as having sustained multiple stab wounds in a “physical altercation.” A March 21 autopsy determined that Darrah died of blunt force trauma and multiple stab wounds. Dr. Michael Sikirica, who conducted the autopsy at Glens Falls Hospital, ruled Darrah’s death a homicide.

Rougeau and Nastasia were taken into custody for questioning at the Plattsburgh City Police Department on March 21 before being charged with second-degree murder.

The men originally entered pleas of not guilty to charges of second-degree murder, a class A felony, in the town of Chesterfield court in March 2023. They were later indicted by a grand jury in September 2023 for second-degree murder, first-degree assault (a class B felony) and third-degree criminal possession of a weapon (a class D felony).

They entered into a plea deal for a downgraded charge of first-degree manslaughter after prosecutors met with Darrah’s family. The family requested that, as a condition of the deal, Rougeau and Nastasia reveal their motives for killing Darrah. The men also waived their right to appeal their cases in the future.

“The family really needed to know the ‘why’ for closure and healing, even though it cannot bring their loved one back,” Sprauge said in a statement. “Nothing we could offer would ever fill the void in their hearts, but at least they can have comfort in knowing these men admitted their guilt, will spend a definite and lengthy period of time in prison and have waived their appeal process in the future.”

The original charge of second-degree murder is defined as an intentional — but not premeditated — murder. First-degree manslaughter, the downgraded charge, is defined as a killing that results from an attempt to severely injure or harm someone.

The pair’s plea agreement calls for a determinate 25-year sentence in prison with a 5-year post-release supervision period. A determinate sentence is a sentence that has a definite length. It cannot be changed by a parole board, and a judge must follow the law’s sentencing guidelines rather than using their own discretion. Rougeau and Nastasia will be required to serve six-sevenths of that 25-year sentence — which comes out to about 21.5 years — and then serve the entirety of the 5-year post-release supervision period. The sentence will be handed down in March. Both men were remanded without bail to the Essex County jail pending sentencing.