NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ—In a case that dates back almost six years, a Woodbridge man was convicted on June 20 of both murder and conspiracy to commit murder after an eight-week trial in New Brunswick.

The jury found that, on November 6, 2011, Michael Doce convinced co-defendant Daniel F. Medaglia to fatally beat Edison resident Kelvin Dumo.

Dumo was remembered by friends and family as a happy young man with a big smile and a passion for art, according to comments in an online obituary.

“I’ll actually never forget him. He had the warmest smile, and he was incredibly generous, FUNNY, and kind,” wrote one mourner on the page.

His murder took place at the Viking Marine Terminal, located at 250 Jernee Mill Road in Sayreville.

Medaglia, also of Edison, pleaded guilty to a first-degree murder charge and testified against Doce.

As reported by NJ.com, Doce had allegedly bragged to Medaglia, a “gangster wanna-be,” about his own ties to the mafia in order to coerce him to killing Edison man.

The 28-year-old victim was supposedly a “snitch” who Doce wanted dead, or at least that’s what he told Medaglia.

According to NJ.com’s coverage of the trial, Doce had sent Medaglia the following message before the murder: 

You can but you have to go alone. In the back is a river and my dad’s aght is in the water. Go to the dock. We always have rope and concrete blocks there. Tie him and put him in the water behind the back of the boat. The crabs will eat him in two days. Put the car in drive into the river too…

An autopsy done by the Middlesex County Medical Examiner’s Office found that Dumo died from “blunt force trauma to the head” in a homicide.

Doce’s lawyer, Eric Breslin, has previously stated that, “My client is a BS artist. Was he foolish? I’ll give you that, very foolish. Was he immature? Yes. Was he a murderer? No.”

Breslin did not respond to inquires from New Brunswick Today. 

Ryan Morrell was charged with 3rd-degree hindering of oneself for driving Doce and Medaglia from the scene of the crime.

Michael Doce and Daniel Medaglia are both scheduled for sentencing on August 18 in the courtroom of Judge Dennis Nieves at the Middlesex County Superior Court.

Medaglia is expected to be sentenced to 30 years in prison as part of his plea deal, while Doce could face up to a life sentence.