George Carty III entered his plea Friday in state Superior Court in Cape May Court House. He'd spent the morning wrangling over the right to wear street cloths, but eventually appeared in the standard-issue orange prison jump suit.
The 50-year-old Carty is accused of killing John Attenborough, whose badly beaten body was found near his car in a marshy area near a construction site in 1982.
Attenborough, who was 57 at the time of his death, and Carty, then 24, worked as chefs at Wildwood Golf and Country Club in Middle Township.
Over the years, Carty graduated from nursing school and medical school.
He was living in Richmond Heights, Ohio, with his wife, and cooking at a steakhouse, when he was arrested in December. He was initially charged with aggravated manslaughter.
His wife and aunt professed his innocence on Friday, with his aunt, Dolly Carty Laing, saying that Carty isn't capable of violence.
Carty is being held in jail on $350,000 cash bail. ---
Information from: The Press of Atlantic City, http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com
