Trevor Dunkley, 66, also pleaded guilty to preventing the lawful burial of Patricia Lashley, who went missing from her home in Dudley, West Midlands, in September 1998.
Almost 30 years later, Dunkley made the shock confession that he had killed Ms Lashley to a police officer investigating her disappearance.
“I killed her. I’m sorry,” he told the officer, according to West Midlands Police.
On Friday, Dunkley was given a life sentence at Wolverhampton Crown Court for her murder, with a minimum term of 10 years and 10 months in prison.
West Midlands Police said Dunkley and Ms Lashley shared a home in Hall Street at the time of the killing.
They met while she was pregnant, and Ms Lashley soon moved into his flat.
On the day of Ms Lashley’s murder, he had launched a violent physical attack on her with his fists as she lay in bed after the “red mist” descended.
Dunkley then took Ms Lashley’s child to social services, telling them that she had abandoned her baby.
He moved Ms Lashley’s body to the basement, and a year later disposed of her body in household waste over several weeks.
Police said because of this, it is unlikely her remains will ever be found.
