COEUR d'ALENE - A Bayview man who used a hammer to brutally attack a family in a next-door mobile home and killed one woman has admitted to the crime. Prosecutors now say they will seek to put him away until he's in his 70s.

Larry W. Cragun, 32, pleaded guilty on Thursday in 1st District Court to first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder and two counts of aggravated battery.

Patty Heath, 43, was killed, and her husband, Michael Heath, 41, and their son, Jedidiah Heath, 22, were injured.

Michael Heath's mother, Lorraine Wallis, was also attacked, suffering serious head injuries. She declined to comment Friday on the outcome of the case.

Cragun burst into Wallis' home on Dec. 19, 2010, shouted at the family, then began swinging the hammer, aiming for people's heads.

The family had just been watching TV that Sunday morning. Wallis' home overlooks Lake Pend Oreille.

Another neighbor of Cragun's and others who knew him in Bayview said he had been acting irrationally before the attacks.

Days before, Cragun distributed fliers around town saying the government was conducting surveillance and invading people's minds with what he called a "brain-wave generator" shaped like an umbrella and hiding 1,400 feet below the surface of the lake.

In the flier, a copy of which was obtained by The Press, he wrote that he was "an unwilling test subject."

Bayview is well known for the longtime presence of the U.S. Navy. It currently has an acoustic research detachment that uses the 1,150-foot depths of that part of Lake Pend Oreille.

When arrested, Cragun suggested he and his family had been raped by the victims, though his ex-wife said that was a complete lie.

People in Bayview who knew Cragun said he also had an antenna attached to his van, which he claimed was used to communicate with submarines in the lake.

A 10-day trial was scheduled to begin April 2 in front of District Court Judge Benjamin Simpson.

Instead, Simpson is scheduled to sentence Cragun May 14. Cragun will remain jailed until that time.

He's facing a possible life sentence on the first-degree murder charge. The maximum for attempted murder is 15 years.

Cragun's guilty pleas were entered after attorneys from the Kootenai County prosecutor's office and public defender Lynn Nelson participated in a court-ordered mediation session with District Court Judge Jeff Brudie, of Lewiston.

Nelson couldn't immediately be reached for comment.

The agreement, reached after three hours, resulted in the dismissal of other charges, including a count of attempted first-degree murder relating to Cragun's attack on Jedidiah Heath.

A charge of aggravated assault relating to Cragun allegedly throwing a knife at Michael Heath was dismissed, along with a burglary charge for bursting into Wallis' home with the intent of committing a crime.

A deadly weapon enhancement was also dropped.

Prosecutors agreed to recommend a life sentence with a chance of parole, with no more than 40 years mandatory.

Wallis, and Jedidiah and Michael Heath were present during the mediation and participated in discussions while the terms of the agreement were being reached.

Kootenai County Prosecutor Barry McHugh said in a statement, "The agreement provides us with guilty pleas to the most significant charges and accurately reflects the conduct of Mr. Cragun."

Cragun has previous convictions for drug possession, domestic violence assault, attempting to elude police, drunken driving and battery, according to court records.