Steven Davenport changed his plea to guilty on the first day of his trial
A teenager has admitted the murder of a fellow college student he stabbed in an Essex park.
Steven Davenport, 18, from Chelmsford, had denied attacking Ashley Woolley, but changed his plea on the first day of his trial at Chelmsford Crown Court.
His business studies classmate Mr Woolley, also 18, died in hospital after being attacked in the city's Oaklands Park on 18 December last year.
Davenport, of Hillside Grove, will be sentenced in July.
'A loser'
Essex Police said the teenager, who also admitted threatening a person with an offensive weapon in a public place, would face "a substantial term of imprisonment".
Ashley Woolley was stabbed because he was popular, his girlfriend has told the BBC
Speaking outside court, Mr Woolley's girlfriend Charlotte Jones said Davenport was a "loser" who she believed had acted out of jealousy.
"Steven was mine and Ash's college friend. We'd been round his house, played ping pong with him," she told the BBC.
"It was cold-blooded, I believe. It was just jealousy over how popular he was, how nice everyone was to him and how nice he was back."
Senior investigating officer Supt Mark Hall said the teenager's killing had caused "widespread shock and distress".
"I am pleased that Steven Davenport has admitted his guilt and has saved Ashley's family the trauma of having to endure a trial after being left devastated," he said.
In a statement, Mr Woolley's family said they missed him "every minute of every day" and would never get over his loss.
