As part of the deal, Philadelphia officials agreed not seek the death penalty and agreed that Graves could serve his time in Colorado.

Immediately after the plea was entered, Graves was sentenced to life in prison in Colorado.

Graves, 30, a former Philadelphia resident charged with attacking eight women in Fort Collins, Colo., and six women in Philadelphia - including the killing of Wharton graduate student Shannon Schieber - pleaded guilty at an arraignment before Colorado District Judge Terence A. Gilmore.

He pleaded guilty to seven charges, out of 23, that included kidnapping and burlary in addition to sexual assault. The remainder of the charges were dismissed.

As soon as news broke here yesterday that Graves was planning to plead guilty in Colorado, officials in Philadelphia said they were hopeful a similar arrangement would unfold here. There is speculation that Graves could return to the area with law enforcement officials as early as next week.

Today, arrangements were made for four police officials and two prosecutors from the Philadelphia District AttorneyŐs Office to go to Colorado.

Although Graves, an Air Force enlisted man stationed at Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, Wyo., pleaded guilty, he still could face trial here. That, however, is unlikely considering that he already has been sentenced to life in prison in Colorado and Philadelphia officials will not be seeking the death penalty.

Philadelphia Police Commissioner Sylvester M. Johnson said today that he was hopeful that Graves would return to Philadelphia soon.

"We'll send people out there to bring him back," Johnson said.

Philadelphia District Attorney Lynne M. Abraham said yesterday that she would not comment on whether a similar plea agreement is being worked out for Graves here.

From the time Graves was arrested in Colorado last month, officials there and in Pennsylvania have kept a tight lid on information after a gag order was issued in Fort Collins.

Today, however, Larimar County District Attorney Stuart A. VanMeveren planned a news conference after the hearing, raising strong speculation that the plea was on the way.

Vicki Schieber, Shannon SchieberŐs mother, said last night that she would welcome a plea arrangement in Philadelphia so her family could be spared a trial.

"We want justice," Schieber said. "We want him in jail for the rest of his life so he is not able to harm anyone else."

In May 1998, Shannon Schieber, 23, was killed in her Center City apartment. Evidence found at the scene linked the attacker to four other assaults in the city in 1997 and to a fifth attack in 1999.

Last year, Fort Collins police linked the same attacker to several sexual assaults there. By that time, Graves had married a local woman and moved to a house in Fort Collins not far from the Colorado State University campus.

Graves was arrested April 23 and charged with the attacks in both states within days. He remains in the Larimer County Detention Center without bail.