LOS ANGELES -- A sex offender met with the grief-stricken parents of San Diego State University student Donna Jou Thursday, telling them he dumped her body into the ocean after she died of a drug overdose at his house.

John Steven Burgess, 36, met for two hours at a downtown jail with Reza and Nili Jou to answer their questions about how their daughter died nearly two years ago. The meeting came one day after Burgess pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in Donna Jou's death.

"He said she went to sleep in a chair and at 6:30 or 7 the next morning, he felt something was wrong with her and felt her pulse and knew she was gone -- those were his words," said Jou family attorney Gloria Allred, who attended the meeting. "At one point he was crying."

Burgess said he met Donna Jou through an ad on Craigslist. He said she was looking for people to party with. He admitted giving her heroin and cocaine at his house, and panicked when he found her dead the next morning.

Allred said Burgess told the family placed the body in the trunk of his car and began driving to her home in Rancho Santa Margarita. While en route, he changed his mind and instead drove to the marina where he kept his sailboat. He said he dumped the body into the ocean then fled to Florida.

Burgess had just finished a three-year prison sentence for failing to register as a sex offender.

He was convicted of three counts of battery in 2002 and of performing a lewd act against a child the following year. He was sentenced to 146 days in jail, placed on three years' probation and required to register as a sex offender.

"He said he was scared and ashamed," Allred said. "After placing the body in the water, he said he jumped in and wanted to drown himself. Then, he got back in the boat. He said he wanted to tell the truth for a long time, but a lawyer told him not to."

Jou's body has not been recovered. "There is nothing to prove or disprove his statements," Donna Jou's father, Reza Jou, said. "But you have to remember, this man is a con artist and I believe there's more to the story than what he's telling us. He should be behind bars for the rest of his life to protect society."

"He looks so innocent. He looks so normal, but he's a monster," said Donna Jou's mother, Nili Jou.

Jou's mother collapsed into heaving sobs, saying, "Why, why?" at a news conference after the emotional meeting.

Burgess faces five years in state prison when he is sentenced May 18.