BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — A Hamburg man was convicted of murder after fatally striking a man over the head with an object while committing a robbery, the Erie County District Attorney’s Office announced Friday.
William J. Giambelluca, 34, was found guilty of one count of second-degree murder and one count of first-degree robbery following a five-day trial. He faces a maximum of 25 years to life in prison when he is sentenced in October.
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Jurors found that Giambelluca attacked his victim, John E. Rados, in a robbery attempt in the parking lot of a tavern in November 2021 on Lake Shore Road in Blasdell. Giambelluca hit the victim in the head and then fled after stealing an unknown amount of cash.
Rados, who was 67 years old, drove himself home after the attack but was found unconscious in his home by a family member the next morning. He died at ECMC a day later from blunt force trauma to the head, the Erie County Medical Examiner’s Office determined.
Giambelluca was found guilty after jurors took approximately three hours to deliberate.
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Justin McMullen is a Western New York native who joined the News 4 team in 2023. You can read more of his work here.