NJ Man Gets 30 Years for Old Bridge Killing

A man who killed his neighbor after she rebuffed his romantic advances has been sentenced to 30 years in state prison.

Middlesex County prosecutors say 36-year-old Robert Hayes Jr. of Perth Amboy will not be eligible for parole under the sentence imposed Monday.

Hayes had interrupted his murder trial in February to plead guilty to murder, burglary, aggravated arson and desecration of human remains in the April 2010 death of 52-year-old Petra Rohrbaugh. He could have faced a life sentence if convicted on those counts at trial

In pleading guilty, Hayes said he intended to kill Rohrbaugh when he broke into her Old Bridge home. He then strangled her before setting fire to her bed.

Hayes was charged just hours after Rohrbaugh's body was found.

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