Colonia Man Sentenced For Edison Pickaxe Murder

EDISON, NJ — A Woodbridge man was sentenced Thursday for his role in arranging the gruesome murder of an Edison man with a pickaxe on November 6, 2011.

The body of Kelvin Dumo, 28, was discovered at Viking Terminal on Jernee Mill Road in Sayreville on Nov. 7, 2011. He died from blunt force trauma to the head; the murder weapon was a pickaxe. Michael Doce, 36, of the Colonia section of Woodbridge, was charged as the mastermind of the murder.

Prosecutors say that Doce convinced another man, Daniel F. Medaglia, 32, of Edison, to kill Dumo. Medaglia and the dead man were high school friends, and police say Medaglia killed Dumo to impress Doce. Doce led him to believe he was in the Mafia, and often texted him stories about the life of organized crime, largely lifted from "The Sopranos" and "Goodfellas."

Doce, for his part, said the whole thing was a "joke." Related: Woodbridge Man Guilty In Pickaxe Wanna-Be Mafia Murder

"I never thought in a million years that something like that would turn into sitting here today, fighting for my life," Doce said when he took the stand earlier this year, according to NJ.com. "If I thought I'd lose my job, my career, lose my wife and someone would lose their life over a joke."

He was found guilty of murder and conspiracy to commit murder following an eight-week trial in New Brunswick. On Thursday, Oct. 5, Doce was sentenced to 30 years in New Jersey state prison. He is required to spend at least 30 years behind bars followed by an additional 5 years of parole.

Medaglia was sentenced to 30 years in New Jersey state prison. He is required to spend 30 years in prison followed by an additional 5 years of parole. Medaglia pleaded guilty to murder in the first degree and agreed to testify against Doce at trial.

A third man, Ryan Morrell, 35, of Dunellen, was sentenced to a probationary term of one year with the conditions that he remains offense and drug free. Morrell admitted that he helped Medaglia by driving him from the crime scene.