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70-Year-Old NH Man Pleads Guilty In Sledgehammer Beating Death

NASHUA, N.H. (AP) — A New Hampshire man has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and been sentenced to 25 to 50 years in prison for bludgeoning his roommate to death with a sledgehammer.

Assistant Attorney General Stacey Kaelin said Wednesday that 70-year-old Peter Bartoloni had only been living with 56-year-old Robert Roderick in Hampton for a couple of months when the killing occurred last October. Bartoloni had lived in Lowell and Brockton, Mass., before moving to Hampton.

Kaelin said Bartoloni told investigators he had been drinking throughout the day and was angry with Roderick for telling neighbors about Bartoloni's extensive criminal record, including an aggravated rape conviction.

Beyond entering his plea, Bartoloni did not say anything before he was sentenced in Hillsborough Superior Court in Nashua.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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