UPDATE: Pierre Collins Pleads Guilty to Killing 10-Year-Old Son

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - A Minnesota father charged with killing his 10-year-old son and throwing the boy in the river has been sentenced to 40 years in prison.

Pierre Collins long denied any involvement in the death of his son, Barway. But he admitted Monday to striking the boy, binding him with duct tape and tossing him in the Mississippi River near Minneapolis, where the child's body was found weeks later.

In pleading guilty to second-degree intentional murder, the 33-year-old Collins stated: "I killed my son."

He was given a longer sentence than usual because the boy was considered vulnerable and because hiding Barway's body was particularly cruel.

Several people wept openly in court, including the boy's mother. She fell out of her chair when Collins admitted to the killing.