A 74-year-old accused serial rapist and murderer pleaded guilty on April 1 to seven counts of murder with special circumstances.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge George Lomeli sentenced John Floyd Thomas Jr. to life in prison without the possibility of parole with six additional life terms.

Thomas pleaded to seven counts of first-degree murder and admitted special circumstance allegations of multiple murder and murder while engaged in the commission of rape and burglary.

The killings occurred between the fall of 1972 and the summer of 1986 in Mid-City Los Angeles, Inglewood, Claremont and the Lennox area of Los Angeles County.

Thomas, who was convicted of sexual assault in 1978, was originally charged in April 2009 with two counts of murder after a DNA match identified him as a suspect.

Five months later, prosecutors filed five additional counts and added special circumstance allegations.

The defendant’s victims ranged in age from 56 to 80 years old.