Lineup outside standing-room only courtroom for Travis Baumgartner trial.Lineup outside standing-room only courtroom for Travis Baumgartner trial. (Marion Warnica/CBC) Travis Baumgartner, the man charged accused of shooting dead three armed guards at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, pleaded guilty to murder Monday.


Baumgartner, 22, was charged in the June 2012 robbery and fatal shooting of Michelle Shegelski, 26, Eddie Rejano, 39, and Brian Ilesic, 35, at HUB Mall, a student residence and indoor food court.


Wearing a black suit jacket, white shirt and no tie, Baumgartner looked pale but calm as he stood in the prisoner's box.


So far, Baumgartner has pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree murder.


A fourth guard, Matthew Schuman, was critically injured in the shooting but has recovered, Baumgartner has also pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of Schuman.


Speaking to a packed courtroom, Associate Chief Justice John Rooke called it "a very emotional case for those who have lost family and friends."


Baumgartner was working as a guard on the same shift. He was arrested days later with $330,000 in cash in his vehicle at a U.S. border crossing adjoining British Columbia.


Michelle Shegelski, 26, was one of three shot dead last June.Michelle Shegelski, 26, was one of three shot dead last June. (CBC) Last month, Baumgartner's lawyer requested that the trial be switched from jury to judge alone, a request the Crown agreed to.


In reaction to the legal move, Schuman, in an email to CBC News, called Baumgartner's decision not to be tried by a jury "A coward's way out. Just like when he shot us. (From Behind.)"


The time set aside for Baumgartner's trial has also been reduced from three weeks to one after discussions between Crown and defence lawyers.


Baumgartner was charged with three counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder.