In the closed-door hearing in Pärnu County Court Monday, Andres Võsu, 35, was read the charges against him by West district prosecutor Anne Sillaots, and pled guilty to strangling two Audru women, in November 2011 and April 2012. Investigators have also linked him to the disappearance of a third woman.

Although he pled guilty, prosecutors will lay out the case for the judges to consider. The victims' families will testify tomorrow, and the accused will be on the stand Thursday.

Cameras were present in the courtroom briefly for the arraignment before the closed-door proceedings began, which elicited a protest from Võsu.

Võsu, who has a past criminal record, was arrested by police a day after the second slaying, on April 7.

The first slaying took place in an apartment and the second woman was attacked at a cemetery near Audru, where there was also a robbery motive.

Prosecutors say he dismembered both bodies.

Võsu faces the maximum penalty under Estonian law for the equivalent of first-degree murder - either eight to 20 years or lifetime imprisonment.