NATIONAL BRIEFING / NEW JERSEY
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A New Jersey jury has rejected a Florida man’s claims that he was too fat to kill his former son-in-law and has convicted him of murder.
The jury of eight women and four men issued its verdict against Edward Ates on Friday, its second day of deliberations after a trial that lasted more than a month.
Ates said he didn’t have the energy to climb a staircase, accurately shoot his former son-in-law and make a quick getaway to Louisiana.
The 62-year-old was 285 pounds when Paul Duncsak was killed in 2006.
Prosecutors said Ates drove from Florida to Duncsak’s home in New Jersey and shot the 40-year-old. The victim and Ates’ daughter were involved in a bitter custody dispute after their divorce.
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