Popewiny pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter. As part of the plea agreement, he will serve 13 years in State Prison with an 85 percent parole ineligibility. Sentencing was scheduled for June 18.
According to Essex County Assistant Prosecutor Dawn Simonetti, who prosecuted the case, on January 11, 2008, at approximately 7:30 a.m., Cedar Grove police were contacted by Popewiny, claiming that his grandfather had fallen in the upstairs bedroom.
Detectives from the Cedar Grove Police Department and the Essex County Prosecutor's Office determined that the blood spatter in the room was not consistent with the fall. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.
An autopsy by the Regional Medical Examiner's Office ruled it a homicide, and the cause of death was multiple blunt force trauma. Popewiny was taken in for questioning and later arrested.
On June 20, 2008, Popewiny was charged in a five-count indictment, including two counts of conspiracy, murder and a weapons offense.
On Wednesday, Popewiny said following an argument with his grandfather, he picked up a blunt instrument and struck his grandfather numerous times with excessive force, ultimately killing him.
"This senseless killing escalated from a family argument that went terribly wrong," Dow said. "This defendant will now spend more than a decade contemplating his irrational behavior."
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