NJ Jurors Convict Fla. Man In 'fat Defense' Trial

DAVID PORTER

HACKENSACK, N.J. (AP) — A jury convicted a Florida man Friday of murdering his former son-in-law, rejecting the man's defense that he was too fat to have run up and down a flight of stairs to commit the crime and make a quick getaway.

Edward Ates looked down and shook his head in court as he was found guilty of murder and weapons counts for killing Paul Duncsak, who was shot six times at his home in Ramsey, about 25 miles northwest of New York.

Ates' "too fat to kill" defense provided an angle to the trial that attracted attention from the news media but didn't sway the jury of eight women and four men, who reached a verdict on their second day of deliberations after a six-week trial.

Some of Duncsak's family members cried softly after the verdict was read. Ate's wife, Dottie, sobbed in the gallery as he was handcuffed and led away by court deputies.

"It doesn't bring him back, but at least he won't get away with it," said Duncsak's sister-in-law, Barbara Duncsak. "It's satisfying. It was a long time coming."