N.J. man charged in beating death of former Rutgers student

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. - A New Brunswick man has been charged with murdering a Kean University student who was found beaten to death last month, reports CBS New York.

The station reports that Timothy Puskas, 38, was already jailed for an unrelated incident, but is now being held by authorities on $5 million bail for allegedly killing 22-year-old student William McCaw.

McCaw's body was discovered on February 15 in the backyard of an off-campus house near Rutgers University. Prosecutors said the victim died from blunt force trauma to the head. He had previously attended the school before transferring to Kean University last September, and was back visiting old fraternity brothers on the night that he was killed. Prosecutors ruled out the residents of the property where the victim was found last month.

According to the Star-Ledger, Puskas was charged earlier this month with aggravated assault from a separate incident in New Brunswick. He is also scheduled to go to trial in June on charges of aggravated manslaughter and leaving the scene of an accident after allegedly hitting and killing a man with his car on Jan. 25, 2012.

"I hope that the family and friends of William McCaw have at least some sense of relief knowing that the murderer has been charged and is behind bars," said Middlesex County Acting Prosecutor Andrew C. Carey.

Carey said that the preliminary investigation showed the victim and Puskas did not know each other, reports the Star-Ledger.

According to CBS New York, the area where McCaw was found mostly consists of off-campus housing for Rutgers students and is known for its partying. McCaw reportedly left a house party to attend another gathering on the night he was murdered.