Kansas City, Kan. ? A nurse’s aide has pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the 2005 stabbing death of an elderly man who had once been in her care.

Wyandotte County District Attorney Jerome Gorman said Christian R. Webb killed Thomas R. Winslow to cover up fraud. According to authorities, Webb stabbed Winslow to death after forging checks drawn on his bank account from November 2004 through May 2005.

“This was a case of extreme elder abuse that ended in murder in order to cover up thousands of dollars in financial fraud,” Gorman said in a news release.

Webb, 29, of Kansas City, Kan., pleaded guilty Thursday to one count of first-degree murder in the death of Winslow, 77, at his western Kansas City, Kan., home. Winslow, whose body was discovered May 31, 2005, was stabbed with a steak knife more than 40 times.

Winslow had been in declining health for years and needed in-home care. He used a motorized wheelchair to get around his house.

Webb faces life in prison and a fine of $500,000 when she is sentenced Feb. 9. She would be eligible to apply for parole after serving 25 years.

Another of Winslow’s former caretakers, Angela Davis, 39, of Kansas City, Kan., had been charged with forgery and mistreatment of a dependent adult and pleaded guilty in July to two misdemeanor counts of mistreatment of an elderly adult. In September, she was sentenced to one year of probation.

Gorman said people who hire in-home assistants should come up with a system of checks and balances to detect and prevent fraud.