NH man convicted, sentenced to life, for killing landlord to steal truck and trade for cycle

NH man convicted of killing landlord over truck

BRENTWOOD, N.H. — A jury has convicted a New Hampshire man of beating his landlord to death with a hammer to steal his new pickup truck, and rejected the defendant’s claims he acted in self-defense when the landlord tried to rape him.

The jury Thursday found Paul McDonald guilty of first-degree murder in the death of 54-year-old Richard Wilcox.

McDonald was sentenced to an automatic life term in prison, as required under New Hampshire law for a first-degree murder conviction. He’s been jailed without bail since his arrest in June 2008. Some of Wilcox’s relatives applauded at sentencing.

McDonald admitted that he killed Wilcox at his landlord’s Danville home, and that he planned to steal the truck, but said he never intended the killing.