Hotz found guilty of second degree murder
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After nearly ten hours of deliberations over two days, a Chadron jury found Joseph Hotz of Rushville guilty of second degree murder in the knife slaying of his roommate.
The prosecution had sought a guilty verdict of first degree murder in the killing of Kenneth Pheiffer in a Chadron apartment but the jury came back with guilty of second degree murder.
The jury also found Hotz guilty on five other felony counts, including use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony, and making terroristic threats.
Sheriff Karl Dailey says that both families were visibly emotional and there were a lot of tears, but there were no outbursts.
Defense Attorney Jeff Pickens had argued that Hotz was not responsible because Hotz was in a psychotic state when the killing occurred.
Sentencing for Joseph Hotz has been scheduled for January 12th.
