MADISON, WI (WTAQ) – A state appeals court has ordered a new trial for a New London man convicted of stabbing an elderly man to death.
Chad Magolski, who’s now 38, is serving a life prison term for the slaying of 77-year-old James Park in the apartment building they shared in late 2007.
The Fourth District Court of Appeals in Madison ruled Thursday that the trial judge was wrong to admit evidence from a previous burglary conviction against Magolski.
The judges said the break-in and the stabbing were not similar enough to justify introducing the evidence. As a result, the appellate judges reversed Magolski’s conviction for first-degree intentional homicide from 2012, and ordered a new trial.
Prosecutors said the murder was committed during a robbery — and Magolski may have used some of the stolen cash to pay overdue utility bills and rent. Investigators said the victim’s pants’ pockets were apparently searched, and Park’s money clip was missing.
(Story courtesy of Wheeler News Service)
