Christian Hillman Found Guilty of Second Degree Murder in Road Rage Beating Case

Christian Hillman, the 18-year-old who was facing murder charges in the road rage beating death of 64-year-old William McFarlan, has been found guilty of second degree murder.

WZZM-13 reports that Hillman's lawyers had lobbied for the jury to consider voluntary manslaughter (which carries a maximum 15-year sentence) instead of the second degree murder charge (which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.)

After deliberating for only 30 minutes, the jury found Hillman guilty of second degree murder.

Hillman has repeatedly claimed that he was acting in self defense after McFarlan grabbed him around the neck. It later was revealed that Hillman was a former heavyweight boxer.

The incident occurred around 9 p.m. on Thursday, September 29, 2016. McFarlan went into hospice care following the assault, where he remained until his death on November 1, 2016.