NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (AP) - A New Jersey man has been indicted on murder charges stemming from the fatal beating of a college student from Tennessee.
Timothy Puskas, of New Brunswick, also faces two weapons charges and two counts of hindering his apprehension or prosecution in the indictment handed up Tuesday by a Middlesex County grand jury.
The charges stem from the February 2014 death of William McCaw, a 22-year-old Gallatin resident whose body was found in the backyard of a New Brunswick home.
Puskas had pleaded not guilty to murder charges during his initial court appearance last year, where he was represented by a public defender. It wasn't known Tuesday if he has since hired an attorney.
Authorities have not said what spurred the killing.
Prosecutors have said McCaw was a student at Kean College in north Jersey, about 25 miles away from where he was found. But he had previously attended Rutgers University and would often return to the New Brunswick area to visit friends.
McCaw had no connection to the people who lived at the home where he was found, and authorities have not said if that's where the attack occurred.
McCaw was pronounced dead at the scene. Prosecutors have said he suffered blunt force trauma.
According to McCaw's obituary, the 22-year-old was named to the Tennessee all state soccer his senior year of high school, and was a captain for the team during both of his years there. He was a graduate of Station Camp High School in Gallatin, just outside Nashville.