"You no longer enjoy the presumption of innocence," Judge Albert J. Cepparulo told Manilla in a courtroom brimming with Manilla's and Groh's loved ones. "You are now convicted. . . ."
Neither Manilla nor Groh's widow, Theresa, would speak to reporters afterward.
Barry Groh, a longtime sportsman, was killed while standing beside a large buck he had shot and dragged to the creek bed, presumably to gut it there. Manilla has told detectives he thought he was shooting at a deer when he fired at Groh.
"What is clear is that the defendant failed to absolutely and positively identify his target" before pulling the trigger, Deputy District Attorney Robert James told Cepparulo.
After the hearing, defense attorney Keith Williams said that expert witnesses may testify at Manilla's sentencing in a bid for leniency. Possible topics include Manilla's "serious health issues" and the fact he "has undergone psychiatric care."
Williams said Manilla believes the Groh family "deserves to be properly compensated" and is negotiating to settle a wrongful-death civil suit the Grohs have filed.
"He is very sorry for what happened. It's a tragic accident," Williams said. "Obviously he shouldn't have been hunting, but he never intended to cause this death."
The fatal shot came from a high-powered rifle that was neither legal for hunting in Bucks County nor legal for Manilla to have in his hands.
In 1985, Manilla had acquired a felony record by breaking the skull of a man outside a Norristown gym, beating him over the head with a steel weightlifting bar. He pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and, at the behest of his attorney and uncle - future Montgomery County District Attorney Michael Marino - received an unusually light four-month sentence.
