Guilty verdict for Barrow twin in reporter death

PENSACOLA - A north Georgia man has been convicted of beating a former Pensacola newspaper reporter to death with a hammer and burying his body in a concrete-covered pit in Barrow County.

Prosecutors said William Cormier III was so desperate for money that he sold some of Sean Dugas' collection of fantasy role-playing cards after he killed him in the fall of 2012. Experts said the collection was worth $100,000.

After the slaying, Dugas was buried in the backyard of Cormier's father's home in Winder and encased in cement.

Jurors convicted Cormier of first-degree murder after a little more than an hour of deliberations. Cormier III showed no reaction as the verdict was read.

He faces up to life in prison. A judge is hearing testimony in the sentencing phase of the trial this afternoon.

Dugas was a reporter with the Pensacola News Journal from 2005 to 2010.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2014/2/271144