Former MSU basketball star Keith Appling pleads guilty to murder charges

Former Michigan State basketball star Keith Appling pleaded guilty Monday to charges related to a 2021 murder case.

Appling, 31, pleaded guilty in Wayne County Circuit Court to second-degree murder and a felony firearm charge for the fatal shooting of his relative Clyde Edmonds, 66, county prosecutor Kym Worthy said.

The plea was made the same day Appling’s trial was scheduled to begin.

Appling, from Detroit, starred at Michigan State from 2010 to 2014 and played professionally with the Orlando Magic and overseas.

He was arrested in 2016 for bringing a loaded assault-style rifle into a Michigan strip club and for suspicion of carrying a concealed weapon.

Appling shot Edmonds on May 22, 2021, after an argument, according to prosecutors. He was charged with murder in June 2021. Edmonds’ wife and Appling’s mother are cousins.

Natalie Bannister, Appling’s girlfriend, drove him from the scene, prosecutors said. She pleaded guilty in July 2022 to a single count of lying to a police officer and was sentenced to 18 months of probation after several charges were dismissed.

Under the plea agreement, Appling will serve 18 to 40 years in prison on the second-degree murder charge and an additional two years — to be served consecutively — on the firearm charge.

Appling will be sentenced on March 3 where additional charges including first-degree murder and a second count of felony firearm will be dismissed, Worthy said.

With News Wire Services