A jury in Hackensack, New Jersey found 62 year old Edward Ates guilty of murder in the now infamous “fat defense” trial. Conviction for murder was not what Ates and his attorney had in mind when they argued that he was too fat and out of shape to be able to drive from Florida to New Jersey, commit murder and then make a getaway to Louisiana. The jury evidently didn’t buy it.

edwards ates





Edward Ates was convicted of killing his 40 year old son-in-law Paul Duncsak. Duncsak was involved in a custody dispute with Ates’ daughter. He (Ates) said that he had no reason to kill his son-in-law, but a custody dispute in a bitter divorce is motive enough.

The murder took place in August of 2006 when Edward Ates drove from his home in Florida to New Jersey, waited on a perch for Duncsak to come home from work and shot him dead. He then drove 21 hours to Louisiana trying to establish an alibi.

During the “fat defense” trial, Ates’ attorneys argued that it was impossible for him to commit the crime in this fashion because of his physical stature and health. The attorneys claimed that Ates weighed too much to be able to do what the prosecutors accused him of doing. At the time of the murder Ates weight was at 285.

The “fat defense” trial is the first of its kind that I can remember but probably not the last. We live in a society now that all too often excuses people of wrongdoing based on their physical appearance or health. If Edward Ates did indeed kill his son-in-law, he deserves to be punished whether he weighed 285 or 385.

The “fat defense” trial lawyers plan to immediately appeal the conviction.