NEWTON, Iowa (AP) — A man has been convicted of killing an acquaintance in central Iowa’s Jasper County. Court records say 53-year-old Randy Linderman was found guilty Tuesday of first-degree murder in the March 2017 slaying of Jose Ramirez Berber. A family member found Berber’s body inside a rural Newton home. Autopsy results determined the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head. DNA evidence taken from Berber’s body and clothing matched that of Linderman, of Charles City. Investigators say Linderman acknowledged that he’d been to Berber’s home several times.

Linderman’s sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 8. First-degree murder carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.