Princeton graduate convicted in father's slaying after allowance was cut

NEW YORK — A Princeton University graduate was convicted in the murder of his father after his allowance was cut, WNBC reported.

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A New York State Supreme Court jury in Manhattan on Friday found Thomas Gilbert Jr., 34, guilty of second-degree murder and weapons charges in the January 2015 shooting death of his father, 70-year-old Thomas Gilbert Sr., NJ.com reported.

The elder Gilbert was a New York hedge fund manager who was paying his son's $2,400 monthly rent and giving him a $600 per week allowance, WNBC reported. The elder Gilbert decided to cut his son's allowance to $400 shortly before his death, the television station reported.

Gilbert faces up to life in prison, NJ.com reported. He will be sentenced in August.

Defense lawyers never disputed Gilbert Jr.'s guilt, but had hoped to get an acquittal by reason of insanity, according to WNBC. However, police said Gilbert Jr. was in debt and had no recent work history, the television station reported.

Gilbert Jr., a 2009 graduate of Princeton who also played football at the university, told police when he was arrested that he was earning $3,000 monthly working in finance, according to court records.

"The defendant rejected hard work, instead, preferring an easy life handed to him on a silver platter," Assistant District Attorney Craig Ortner said in his closing argument, NJ.com reported.

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