National Football League

Killer blames victim he stabbed to death over football fight

Published Sep. 29, 2017 5:47 p.m. ET

TOMS RIVER, N.J. (AP) A parolee who killed a fellow halfway house resident over an argument about football smirked and said the victim had it coming while being sentenced Friday to 30 years in prison.

Anthony Strong, 26, smiled, shook his head, rolled his eyes and said during a court hearing that if Frank Campagna ''wasn't an (expletive), he'd still be alive,'' NJ.com reported .

Authorities said Campagna's body was found in his halfway house room with 90 stab wounds, including one that pierced his skull and entered his brain, in October 2015 a day after his 41st birthday. Strong pleaded guilty to murder in August.

Strong was living at the halfway house while on parole for a robbery charge. He and Campagna got into an argument while watching a football game, and the argument became violent when Campagna punched Strong in the face, according to the report. Strong then grabbed a knife that he has said Campagna was using to roll a marijuana blunt and fatally stabbed Campagna.

Campagna's family provided a handwritten statement to NJ Advance Media that said, ''A picture of Frank was painted that was untrue and we are pleased that justice has been served and our son's honor is intact.''

As prosecutor Laura Pierro detailed the locations of Campagna's stab wounds, Strong shrugged his shoulders. She called his behavior ''deplorable'' after the hearing.