Dennis Pozniak is a New Jersey man who bludgeoned his girlfriend Nicole Wilson, 24, and her father Bryan Wilson, 52, to death with a pipe wrench in their Mount Holly home in late January 2015. He was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder in 2016 and sentenced to 60 years without parole. A state appeals court threw out that conviction in 2019, and Pozniak later pleaded guilty under a deal that cut his effective prison term in half. He is now serving 30 years with no eligibility for parole.
The Night of the Killings
The murders happened at a duplex on the 200 block of Washington Street in Mount Holly, late on January 30, 2015, or in the early hours of January 31. Pozniak, then 27, had been dating Nicole Wilson since around August 2014 and was living with her. Her father, Bryan Wilson, had moved in a few months earlier, and prosecutors said his presence had strained the relationship.1Burlington County Times. Prosecutor: Cinnaminson Man Killed Girlfriend
According to the State’s case, Pozniak grew angry that Nicole was pulling away and that he might be asked to leave. He blamed her father. While both victims were asleep, he attacked them with a large pipe wrench. Bryan Wilson was struck at least ten times. Autopsies confirmed both died of head trauma from bludgeoning.1Burlington County Times. Prosecutor: Cinnaminson Man Killed Girlfriend
Nicole’s younger sister found the bodies around 9 a.m. that Saturday. When police entered the home, they found Pozniak locked in a second-floor bedroom with self-inflicted cuts to his neck. Authorities said he had slashed himself and swallowed a mix of alcohol and prescription drugs in what he described as a suicide attempt.2CBS News Philadelphia. Man Charged in Murders of Girlfriend and Her Father in Mt. Holly
Who the Victims Were
Nicole Wilson was a specialist in the New Jersey Army National Guard. She enlisted in November 2009 and worked in the logistics office of the 119th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, where she also served as a chaplain’s assistant. Chief Warrant Officer Patrick Daugherty called her “a dedicated soldier” who “zealously worked hard to make sure soldiers had the equipment, training and resources they needed.”3Burlington County Times. Mount Holly Murder Victim Was Guard Specialist
Her father, Bryan Wilson, was 52 and had moved into the Washington Street home only a few months before he was killed.
The First Trial and the Mental Health Defense
Pozniak went to trial in Burlington County Superior Court in late 2016 before Judge Jeanne T. Covert. The fight was over his mental state. Defense attorney Timothy Farrow argued Pozniak suffered from severe mental illness and drug-induced psychosis and could not have formed the intent required for murder.4NJ.com. Man on Trial in Double Homicide Was Delusional, Expert Says
Forensic psychologist Leland Mosby testified that Pozniak had been diagnosed with major depressive disorder with psychotic features and a personality disorder with paranoid and schizotypal features. Pozniak took the stand himself and described delusions and hallucinations, including a belief that the Wilsons were kidnapping his daughter. He said he could not recall killing them.5Justia. State v. Pozniak, A-3442-16T3
The defense paired that with an intoxication argument. Pozniak had a long history of substance abuse and by January 2015 was taking Suboxone, Valium, Xanax, and Adderall. His lawyers said he mixed those medications with wine that night in a suicide attempt, and toxicology expert Dr. Gary Lage testified the resulting intoxication would have prevented him from forming the intent to injure anyone.5Justia. State v. Pozniak, A-3442-16T3
Prosecutors called their own psychiatrist, Steven Simring, who testified that Pozniak’s history amounted to drug abuse plus mild chronic depression, with no documented pattern of psychosis in years of prior hospitalizations. Simring said Pozniak was capable of acting with purpose and knowledge the night of the killings.6Burlington County Times. State’s Expert: Pozniak Was Capable of Acting With Purpose The State also pointed to evidence that he had hidden the wrench, closed doors during the attack, and struck with precision.
Conviction and 60-Year Sentence
On December 12, 2016, after roughly seven hours of deliberation over three days, the jury convicted Pozniak of two counts of first-degree murder, third-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, and fourth-degree unlawful possession of a weapon.7Patch. Cinnaminson Man Found Guilty of Murder in Deaths of Girlfriend and Her Father
Judge Covert sentenced him on March 10, 2017, to two consecutive 30-year terms, each with a full 30-year period of parole ineligibility. That added up to 60 years without parole.8CBS News Philadelphia. NJ Man Sentenced to 60 Years for Killing Girlfriend and Her Father
Why the Conviction Was Overturned
On March 11, 2019, the New Jersey Appellate Division reversed both murder convictions and ordered a new trial. A three-judge panel held that Judge Covert had committed reversible error by refusing the defense’s request to instruct the jury on the lesser-included offenses of aggravated manslaughter and manslaughter.5Justia. State v. Pozniak, A-3442-16T3
The panel reasoned that even if the killings looked purposeful, the evidence of mental illness, addiction, and intoxication gave a jury a rational basis to find recklessness rather than the purposeful or knowing state of mind murder requires. The court wrote that a juror could have concluded Pozniak “recklessly caused the deaths when he ingested large amounts of drugs and alcohol that night and set himself up to commit violence.”9NJ.com. Court Orders New Trial for Man Who Bludgeoned Girlfriend, Her Father to Death
The appellate judges also faulted the trial court for limiting the jury’s access to portions of Pozniak’s recorded police statement in which he denied the killings, described his intoxication, and expressed confusion about whether Nicole was alive. Withholding that material, the panel said, deprived jurors of context relevant to the State’s own theory of motive.9NJ.com. Court Orders New Trial for Man Who Bludgeoned Girlfriend, Her Father to Death
The Plea Deal and 30-Year Sentence
Rather than face a second trial, Pozniak reached a plea agreement with the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office. Superior Court Judge Gerard Breland sentenced him to two 30-year terms, each with no parole eligibility, to run concurrently. Because the terms are concurrent instead of consecutive, his effective sentence dropped from 60 years to 30.10Courier-Post. Dennis Pozniak Sentencing, Mount Holly NJ Murder
At the resentencing, Nancy Wilson, an aunt of the victims, spoke directly to Pozniak. “We trusted you. You could have just left the house. But being the self-serving coward you are, you brutally ended their lives.” She said the jury had done the right thing and the court system had failed the family. The reduction from 60 years to 30 left the Wilsons feeling the appeal had undone the verdict they lived through.10Courier-Post. Dennis Pozniak Sentencing, Mount Holly NJ Murder
Pozniak is serving that 30-year sentence with no parole eligibility. No further appeals or legal developments have been reported.