Pa. Man Gets Decades in Prison After Guilty Plea in a Craigslist Murder
By Jim Melwert
NORRISTOWN, Pa. (CBS) -- A northern Pennsylvania man who went on the run after skipping out on his child rape trial in Lycoming County, Pa. will now spend the next 40 to 80 years in prison.
Chad Wilcox, 29, pleaded guilty in Montgomery County Court to robbing and killing a Norristown man he'd met through an ad on the commerce web site "Craigslist."
Wilcox admitted in court he was trying to get money to buy heroin and flee Pennsylvania when he killed Manuel Hakimian last September.
He admitted he responded to a sex ad on Craigslist, then tied Hakimian to a bed in Hakimian's Norristown home, slashed his throat and stole his wallet, tablet computer, laptop, cellphones, and car.
Wilcox traded the electronics in Philadelphia for bags of heroin, then drove south in the stolen car, finally getting caught in North Carolina.
Montgomery County assistant district attorney Tom McGoldrick says they feel the plea is essentially a life sentence.
"With a number that large, there is an extremely good likelihood that he will die in prison," McGoldrick tells KYW Newsradio.
The murder-robbery case unfolded one week after Wilcox didn't show up for his trial in Lycoming County on charges he raped a young girl. He's pleaded no contest to those charges, and faces an additional 6-12 years in prison.