Man Found Guilty of Beating N.J. College Student to Death with Crowbar

NEW BRUNSWICK-- The man accused ofbeating a New Jersey college student with a crowbar and leaving him for dead two years ago was found guilty Tuesday of all charges after a months-longtrial.Just after 10 a.m. in Middlesex County Superior Court, the jury found Timothy Puskas, 40, guilty of murder, weapons offenses and hindering in the death of William "Billy" McCaw.The 22-year-old student's father, Bob McCaw, tried to hold back tears as he thanked law enforcement and jurors for their countless hours working to Tuesday's verdict."We take no joy in the verdict because no matter what the outcome it won't bring Billy back," Bob McCaw said."I don't know how anyone goes through this kind of thing alone," he said, acknowledging his family and friends for their continued support.Puskas' attorney, Joseph Mazraani, declined to comment. Puskas faces 30 years to life in prison. His sentencing has not been set.Jurors spent days asking to rehear testimony and recorded phone calls, and to re-watch video surveillance, which prosecutors said showed Timothy Puskas wandering the city streets in the early hours of Feb. 15, 2014,near whereWilliam McCaw was later found dead.McCaw was a well-liked college student who recently transferred from Rutgers to Kean University. He was walking to a friend's home alone after a party at a Rutgers fraternityjust before 3 a.m. when he was killed.Middlesex County Prosecutor Bina Desai said Puskas -- who was angry, believing his roommates had been stealing from him -- crossed paths with McCaw that night, beatthe studentwith a crowbar and left himfor dead in the snow. His body wasn't found for hours until a neighbor found the student and called police, according to authorities.On Friday, the jury askedJudge Dennis Nieves if they couldwatch the 16 minutes of surveillance tapes one last time. Each juror was focused during the playback, some leaning forward with their hands tucked under their chin. By the end of the day, the jury had asked Nieves to go home following a "stressful" day of arguing during deliberations."There is no justifying such a brutal and senseless murder," Middlesex County Prosecutor Andrew Carey said. "However, I hope that the guilty verdict gives Billy's family and friends some sense of closure and peace."At first, Puskas wasn't considered a suspect but became the target of the investigation after hisroommates told detectives they believed he was involved.In the days after the killing, Puskas' computer search history showed him reading a series of articles on the incident, the prosecutor said.Mazraani argued the roommates had been charged in a string of burglaries and were offering Puskas as a way to get out of their own legal issues."There's no motive for him to do any of this," Mazraani said in his opening statements. "He doesn't even know the young man."Mazraani continually argued throughout the trial that there was no physical evidence connecting his client to the murder.In the audio recordings between Puskas and his roommate, the 40-year-old said he was out wandering the streets and smashed a few car mirrors. He declined any involvement in McCaw's murder multiple times. The roommate claimed he washed Puskas clothes that night when he came back home.McCaw's body was found behind a Hartwell Street house, about 900 feet from where Puskas was living on Plum Street.Puskas was out on bail for a 2012 incident, where he hit and killed a bicyclist in New Brunswick. He was sentenced to seven years in prison in September following a reckless manslaughter conviction, the prosecutor's office said.NJ Advance Media reporter Alex Napoliello contributed to this report.Craig McCarthy may be reached at .